Bundesliga hit without a winner: Sturm and Salzburg with a draw

The Sturm fans started straight away, those from Salzburg would have needed every loudspeaker to be able to keep up. Only around 200 fans filled the guest sector, for comparison: second division team Austria Salzburg sent 800 supporters to Amstetten two weeks ago. The hot atmosphere also had its downsides; after just three minutes it had to be interrupted due to the pyrotechnics. The players could have excused the restart because of the poor visibility; bad passes, especially from Sturm, characterized the game. Salzburg were also more dangerous in front of the goal at the beginning. Baidoo had the first great chance after 20 minutes – over it.

Sturm tried to bring the strikers into the danger zone with quick advances, but this was met with limited success. And yet the Graz team could have taken the lead in the 26th minute when Malic managed to head the ball alone but was denied by Schlager.

Vertessen meets worth seeing

Salzburg’s goal in the 32nd minute was deserved: The Belgian Yorbe Vertessen scored from a tight angle into the top corner after a pass from Bidstrup – goalkeeper Bignetti was surprised. Previously, Malic could have offered more resistance. It was the first goal this year for Sturm in their own stadium. And Salzburg ended a series of four goalless games.

Sturm woke up a bit, a remarkable free kick from Mamageishvili forced Schlager into a save (39th). Otherwise, there was little of use from the Styrian team before the break. Only Hödl made a difference with his great fighting spirit. Salzburg’s Bidstrup had the chance to score their second goal before the break. But Sturm scored – Jon Stankovic took heart from Malic’s pass and scored with a shot to make it 1-1.

Opportunity poverty

The second half began with chances from Mamageishvili and Jatta. The Graz team now seemed to have improved a bit after their somewhat fortunate half-time score, while Krätzig missed for Salzburg.

A phase of lack of opportunities followed, the teams engaged in a hard-fought exchange of blows with many bad passes. Salzburg’s Terzic clearly missed the goal. Sturm’s new defender Vallci also came in handy in the counterattack.