East Styrians win 2:1

Ten Hartberger win at Wolfsberger AC!

Hartberg rewarded themselves for a strong performance at the WAC.(Bild: GEPA)

Wolfsberger AC are still waiting for their first win after their third home appearance under Peter Pacult! Hartberg won 2:1 (1:0) at the cup winners on Saturday, with the Styrians being outnumbered for almost a half.

Maximilian Hennig (28') and Elias Havel (74') with his seventh goal of the season scored for TSV, whose Marco Hoffmann was shown yellow (49'). An own goal from Dominic Vincze (86') gave Wolfsberg hope in the final stages. WAC professional Rene Renner saw red in stoppage time. Hartberg are now unbeaten in five rounds. Manfred Schmid's team are currently in fifth place in the table and have reduced the gap to third-placed WAC to two points.

(Bild: APA/WOLFGANG JANNACH)

Pacult was keen to finally get some joy in the Lavanttal after the 1:2 against Ried and the 0:0 against WSG Tirol. He opted for Donis Avdijaj in attack alongside Markus Pink, while Marco Sulzner started in midfield in place of Simon Piesinger, who was ill. Jürgen Heil, a Hartberg regular, was also absent through illness, with Tobias Kainz taking his place in central midfield. WAC had a lot of the play, combining up to the penalty area, but were unable to set up their strikers. Hartberg were again compact at the back and relied on their quick frontmen Havel and Hoffmann.

WAC plays, Hartberg scores
There was little going on offensively for almost half an hour before the visitors struck. Kainz crossed from the right into the penalty area and the ball got past WAC keeper Nikolas Polster to Hennig, who finished with a half-volley. It was the Bayern Munich II loanee's first goal in the league. Dejan Zukic and Co. ran in vain. WAC had 77 percent possession at half-time, but only had one shot on goal.

(Bild: GEPA)

Wolfsburg were almost completely outnumbered in the second 45 minutes. Hoffmann, who had already been cautioned shortly before the break, tackled Nicolas Wimmer with excessive force and the birthday boy (22) was sent off by referee Arnes Talic. Havel, who is on the call-up list for the ÖFB team, was Hartberg's lone entertainer in attack from then on.

Pacult saw his team continue to struggle. Even with substitute David Atanga, Hartberg's bulwark could not be broken. Avdijaj came close to equalizing with a header, but TSV keeper Tom Hülsmann was on hand to make a brilliant save (73'). One minute later, Havel was in the spotlight. Once again, he went into turbo mode and elegantly finished off Polster with a lob. The WAC were given one last chance to hope after Vincze unfortunately deflected a cross into his own goal. However, the home side did not have another great chance to score. Renner was sent off deep into stoppage time after a blow to the groin from Damjan Kovacevic following VAR intervention.

The result:
Wolfsberger AC - TSV Hartberg 1:2 (0:1)
Wolfsberg, Lavanttal-Arena, 3457 spectators, SR Talic

Goals: 0:1 (28.) Hennig, 0:2 (74.) Havel, 1:2 (86.) Vincze (own goal)

Red card: Renner (96th/assault)

Yellow-red card: Hoffmann (49th/repeated foul)

Yellow cards: Kojzek and Prokop

WAC : Polster - Baumgartner (80. Agyemang), Nwaiwu, N. Wimmer - Matic, Sulzner (62. Atanga), Schöpf, Renner - Zukic - Pink (55. Kojzek), Avdijaj (80. Gattermayer)
Hartberg: Hülsmann - Kovacevic, Vincze, Spendlhofer, Wilfinger, Hennig - Kainz, Prokop (56. Diarra), Markus - Havel (78. Fridrikas), Hoffmann

Quotes:

Peter Pacult (WAC coach): "It's not what we had hoped and wished for. Our opponents scored two goals, we only scored one. But of course I'm not satisfied. I'm a long way away from that."

Manfred Schmid (Hartberg coach): "It was a battling game, especially after the exclusion. We defended everything away, the key was Avdijaj's finish, which was held by Hülsmann. We were mega-efficient and only allowed them possession in the dangerous area. The team has learned from negative experiences, we sat down together and analyzed it. If you saw the body language and communication of the players after the 1:2 this time, it was a completely different performance."