A Hard-Fought Draw

LIVE: WAC Takes the Lead! Sturm Pushes for the Equalizer

A last-minute penalty kick saves Sturm Graz a point!(Bild: GEPA)

Wolfsberger AC and Sturm Graz played to a 1-1 draw in a hard-fought match. However, there were a number of controversial referee decisions, including a penalty kick awarded to Sturm Graz in stoppage time. 

WAC will have to wait a little longer for its first win under Manfred Schmid. The Carinthians were on the verge of handing over last place in the Bundesliga to Austria Vienna on Sunday, but conceded a 1-1 equalizer to Sturm Graz in the 95th minute via a penalty kick. Oumar Diakite confidently converted the penalty kick for the Graz team, who looked tired. Former Graz player Donis Avdijaj had put WAC ahead in the 45th minute.

For WAC, after six consecutive competitive losses, facing their favorite opponent from Graz came at just the right time. Following this respectable result, the “Wolves” are now unbeaten in seven straight matches against Sturm. For Sturm, following the 2-2 draw against Ried, this meant another loss of points and yet another setback after their cup elimination in Lustenau. Ahead of their matches against Celje in the Europa League and Salzburg, the form of coach Fabio Ingolitsch’s injury-plagued team is on the decline.

In his third game since returning to WAC, Schmid fielded a starting lineup with four changes. With Philipp Verhounig and Sankara Karamoko, speed in attack was expected to be the key. Sturm also made three lineup changes during a demanding stretch of weeks. Belmin Beganovic came in for Diakite, Jürgen Heil, and Arjan Malic, bringing fresh legs to the lineup. Ingolitsch anticipated a “wild game” in what he described as a “far from cozy” atmosphere in the Lavant Valley. The Sturm coach warned of the opponent’s counterattacks.

Goals Don’t Count
The visitors then controlled a first half marked by numerous inaccuracies and questionable refereeing decisions. Early on, Sturm unsuccessfully appealed for a penalty when Beganovic went down in a challenge with WAC goalie Lior Gliklich. After Graz’s supposed lead (28th minute)—in which Beganovic finished with a lob following a mistake by Raffael Behounek—VAR Walter Altmann intervened. He had spotted a slight shove by Luca Weinhandl against Verhounig in the build-up.

A hard-fought match!(Bild: APA/WOLFGANG JANNACH)

The hosts also celebrated prematurely at first. Jon Gorenc Stankovic went down slightly during a WAC free kick, prompting referee Alain Sadikovski to disallow a header goal by Simon Piesinger (41'). But the Carinthians struck again before halftime from a set piece—and this time the goal counted: A quick corner kick found its way, via a series of deflections, to Avdijaj, who spun and fired into the far corner. After more than 400 minutes without a goal, WAC was back on the scoreboard.

Sturm Lacking Punch
Sturm came out of the locker room with high ambitions, led by top scorer Diakite, and had a great chance to equalize through Simon Seidl, who was denied by Gliklich from close range (55'). After that, however, the favorites lacked creativity and cutting edge. WAC, with a disciplined performance, closed down the spaces and launched the occasional dangerous counterattack. Ammar Helac was on hand to stop a rare shot on his goal following a Verhounig attempt (65').

In the closing minutes, “super sub” Axel Kayombo was initially denied by Gliklich (87'). The fact that Verhounig failed to convert a one-on-one chance against Helac to make it 2-0 came back to haunt the Carinthians deep into stoppage time. After a harsh penalty call against Cheikh Diakite for an alleged handball, Oumar Diakite converted the penalty confidently.