Our chance to win the title on Sunday 21 May at 17:00 CET against SK Sturm Graz is the fifth meeting of the season with the Graz side. How have things been going against our title rivals? Much better! We have been gaining the upper hand with another win enough for us to clinch the title once again! To help you get in the mood, we are recounting our previous four meetings with the Graz side in 2022/23:
Saturday 30 July | First loss of the season
The new season had just begun when we faced Sturm for the first time on the second ADMIRAL Bundesliga matchday. We didn't get the kind of result we wanted at the start of the campaign. Sturm won 2-1 thanks to a brace from Rasmus Höjlund (who now plays for Atalanta) to knock us off the top of the table. We only got into the game late on, and a strike from Maurits Kjaergaard was not enough for a result.
Saturday 22 October | No goals, but plenty of talking points
After 12 matches of the season had been played, we had regained the league lead and were looking for revenge. Strahinja Pavlovic was in the thick of things - the Serbian defender first stopped a near certain Sturm goal and then got everyone to the edge of their seats with a sensational dribble, only to receive a second yellow card shortly before full-time. It was a controversial decision with Pavlo brought down by an opponent in the area, but the referee penalising him for diving. That marked a disappointing end to a dramatic draw in the big match.
Friday 3 February | Cup exit in nailbiter
Our third meeting of the 2022/23 season came in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup quarter-final just a few days after the longest winter break in ages had ended. The clash in the Red Bull Arena was intensive, tight and full of bite! Amar Dedic equalised after Graz had taken the lead. There was no winner at the end of regular time or at the end of extra time. Even a penalty shoot-out struggled to separate the teams with the eventual cup winners progressing after the sixth penalty each. Our exit was a disappointing one, and made us even more eager to extract our revenge in the league.
Sunday 23 April | Vital win in tight title race
In the fourth clash against SK Sturm, our boys could finally take a win! The league lead was at stake at the start of the championship group. A lengthy injury list cautioned our optimism ahead of the tie, but we were determined to get the three big points! Nicolas Capaldo gave us a lead, and 15 minutes before the end Benjamin Sesko sealed things after great supply work from Karim Konate. We have a chance to build on that now and take the final step towards the title together!
