Austria Women’s national soccer team ended the international year with a defeat. The ÖFB selection lost the test match in Sanlucar de Barrameda against them on Monday Ukraine with 2:3. The eight-day course in Spain ended without a win for Austria; on Thursday they had against Finland achieved a 1:1. The coming year will be all about the European Championship qualification against Norway, Slovenia and Deutschland.
The Austrians got off to an optimal start and took the lead after just a few seconds through Sophie Hildebrand. Ukraine responded with a double strike from Nicole Kozlova (14th) and Roksolana Kravchuk (18th), before scoring an own goal from Yana Kotyk after a shot from Katharina Schiechtl The score was 2-2 (28th). Olha Ovdiichuk secured the Ukrainians’ victory in the 47th minute. The troupe of Alexander Schriebl Although they increased the pressure at the finish, they were unable to equalize.
Voices about the game
Team boss Alexander Schriebl: “Of course we would have liked a different result, we did it well at times, but we also didn’t do it so well at times today. I understand the disappointment of the players. Even if the result today wasn’t enough, we saw that we were looking for playful solutions. We are giving the game the same weight today as we did the draw against Finland. It’s now important to draw the right conclusions from it and work on the things that need to be done better. Ukraine also did well in its opportunities today. The quick goal at the beginning has showed that “this is no guarantee for the further course of the game. It is important to continue to remain vigilant.”
Captain Katharina Naschenweng: “I actually had the feeling that we dominated them. But the ball losses and also the goals were far too easy, so we are all extremely disappointed. An early goal is actually good and we actually had the feeling that we could then force our game on them. But we were often too passive and the coordination, especially in defense, was often not right. Our goal has to be that we win a game against Ukraine. We see that today as a step in development.”
Goalkeeper Jasmin Pal: “The Ukraine met us very physically, but I think that we looked for good solutions with the ball and found them at times. The three goals we conceded were too easy and were coldly exploited by Ukraine. We don’t need to sugarcoat that. There were still good actions in the game that we will build on and learn from.”
Julia Hickelsberger: “Basically, it’s always good when you start a game with an early lead. The equalizer and the 2-1 were annoying and both times came out of nowhere and were too easy. The bottom line is that today, all in all, it wasn’t enough. But we know what we have to work on. The course was still good because many players were able to present themselves, we tried a lot tactically, rehearsed new processes. That’s something we need to consolidate in the future.“