Another self-drop

Nobody hurts the GAK more than the GAK itself

Marco Perchtold's exclusion tipped the derby.(Bild: GEPA)

The 1:2 disappointment in the Graz football derby has hurt the Reds extremely. Once again, "self-drops" were their undoing. The list of annoying mistakes is getting longer and longer. 

Dark clouds over Weinzödl - the mood in the GAK camp after the 1:2 derby disappointment ranged from dejected to grumpy to very self-critical at the "Krone" local preview on Monday. "The first win against Sturm would have done us a lot of good for the play-off," growled sporting director Didi Elsneg, "but it's our own fault, we had everything under control. We should have at least won 1:1 at home."

"There's no open manhole that the GAK won't jump into," said technical director Tino Wawra, shaking his head. The list of "self-drops" is impressive: Marco Perchtold's yellow card was the seventh exclusion of a GAK player - a league record! Before him, Schriebl, Lang and Filipovic (twice) saw yellow-red, and Jovicic and Perchtold himself saw red. 63 yellow cards are also a league record. On top of that, there were eight painful penalty goals. The series of self-inflicted stoppages was rounded off by three own goals (Rosenberger, Italiano, Lang).

GAK coach Rene Poms (l.) was also shown the red card for leaving the coaching zone.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The derby win, which was given away after a 1-0 lead, will certainly be included in the list of generous guest gifts: Only the WAC match (from 3-0 down to 3-4) was worse emotionally. Fact: Nobody hurts the GAK more than the GAK hurts itself!

Nevertheless, after Sunday's Rapid game (Lichtenberger and Perchtold are suspended), the Red Jackets are confident about the relegation battle, especially as the sick bay is emptying. "A new championship begins in the lower play-off," said coach Poms, "we're not far away and we know what we have to work on."

Pendulum will swing
"There aren't many clubs that have been able to learn from so many negative experiences," says Elsneg, convinced that the pendulum will swing in the play-offs. Marco Perchtold also believes that they can take something from the derby: "We showed against Sturm and Austria that we can keep up with any opponent. But we have to stop making mistakes." Great hope: "Team spirit and fans will be our trump card in the end."