Forward in Top Form

LIVE: Goal! Hartberg extends its lead against SCR Altach

Marco Hoffmann led Hartberg to victory with his two-goal performance.(Bild: GEPA)

Hartberg striker Marco Hoffmann gave himself a birthday present. The 23-year-old led the Styrians to a 3-0 victory over SCR Altach with a brace—thereby reclaiming the lead in the Bundesliga scoring race (10 goals).

TSV Hartberg continues its upward momentum. The East Styrian side won 3-0 at home against Altach on Sunday thanks to goals from Konstantin Schopp (3') and Marco Hoffmann (35', 77'), securing their fourth consecutive competitive victory and moving up to fourth place in the Bundesliga—at least for now. TSV suffered its only loss in its last eleven competitive matches against Rapid. For Altach, it was another setback following two wins and a draw.

Perfect Start for Hartberg
The match got off to aperfect start for Hartberg: After a lob by Youba Diarra into the penalty area, Angelo Gattermayer headed the ball down to Schopp, who, together with Altach’s Lukas Jäger, pushed the ball over the line. After that, the home team had everything under control, but aside from a shot by Magnus Dalpiaz (19th minute) that was saved by Altach goalkeeper Dejan Stojanovic, there were no real highlights—until the 35th minute.

The crossbar prevented Hartberg from taking an early 3-0 lead
, Oliver Lukic set up Hoffmann with a brilliant pass, and Hoffmann calmly slotted the ball into the far corner. In the 41st minute, the crossbar came to Altach’s rescue when Lukic headed the ball off the crossbar following a corner kick.

After the break, Hartberg managed their lead. Altach played without inspiration but nearly capitalized on a sloppy backpass by Diarra; however, TSV goalkeeper Armin Pecsi got to the ball before Shingo Nakano (75th minute). Two minutes later, the game was decided for good. Hoffmann’s goal to make it 3–0 was initially disallowed due to an alleged offside by assist provider Dalpiaz, but was ultimately upheld by the VAR. As a result, the Burgenland native celebrated a brace on his 23rd birthday; with ten goals, he is now the sole leader in the scoring race.

Bundesliga (Round 12):

TSV Hartberg – SCR Altach 3–0 (2–0) 
Hartberg, Profertil Arena, Referee Gishamer

Goals: 1–0 (3') Schopp, 2–0 (35') Hoffmann, 3–0 (77') Hoffmann

Hartberg: Pecsi – Dalpiaz (80. Pazourek), Spendlhofer, Schopp, Coulibaly – Feldhofer (68. Kainz), Diarra, Markus, Lukic (68. Radulovic) – Gattermayer (80. Drew), Hoffmann (84. Urrutia)

Altach: Stojanovic – Zech, Milojevic, Jäger – Naschberger (69. Helbock), Massombo (83. Vonbrül), Bähre, Greil, Böckle (46. Nakano) – Elongo-Yombo (46' Niehoff), Diawara (69' Yalcin)

Yellow cards: none, Milojevic, Bähre