The intense weeks left their mark on Sturm Graz. Due to the triple load in the Europa League, Bundesliga and in the ÖFB-Cup, the results in the last few weeks at Sturm Graz have not been achieved. And the game in Altach didn’t make the tongues click either. “At the moment we play anything but fireworks, they are real fighting games,” said Ilzer. It is no wonder: “We have waited for weeks for a sense of achievement. We noticed the uncertainty. The relief can be felt by the whole team. “
The performance in Altach turned out to be a “tremendous game.” In the end, a standard situation decided this game. Manprit Sarkaria was there after a corner kick with a penalty in the 37th minute and secured three important points for the Grazers: “We rehearsed and implemented an outstanding standard situation,” enthused Ilzer. Old hand Jakob Jantscher, the assist king of Grazer, knows that, especially in the current situation, his templates are all the more in demand: “In modern football, standards are more and more a part of it. We have rehearsed these variants well in training. “
Sturm Graz also didn’t have long to prepare for the game against Admira. The Graz residents had an adventurous return trip from Altach. Nobody wanted to go back on the plane. Instead, the train was taken: “After all,“ chunks of ice were thrown against the ship’s side ”on the outward flight. “It was brutally shaky, just like we have been for the past few weeks. It was a test of courage, ”said Ilzer. Nevertheless, the Graz team against Admira want to make the starting position favorable for the champions group.
Statistically speaking, Admira recently had little to order against Grazer. In the league they have been without a win for ten games (0-2-8), and since the last victory of the Lower Austrians in Graz, the 2-0 on November 30, 2016, the home side won six times in the Merkur Arena with a total of 20: 3 goals.
According to the statistics, Sturm Graz is the clear favorite in this game. Admira had little to order in the last games against Sturm. In the league they have been without a win for ten games (0-2-8), and since the last victory of the Lower Austrians in Graz, the 2-0 on November 30, 2016, the home side won six times in the Merkur Arena with a total of 20: 3 goals.
Admira could prove to be a grateful opponent, the Südstädter are six games without a win (three draws). The most recent 0: 1 against WAC was also a disappointment, the “urgently needed” points (Herzog) went to the Carinthians. Herzog missed courage and shrewdness as well as a good development game, that is about to change. The ex-national player builds on the freshness of his team: “During Sturm Had to contest a difficult match during the week in Altach, we were able to regenerate and prepare for the duel. I expect us to experience the intensity and the force of the Grazer match or even overpower a bit. “
