Austria are in trouble at the start of this season. The Viennese really wanted to present an aggressive spectacle. However, after seven Bundesliga outings, there is practically nothing to see. The Violets have scored only five goals so far. The 1:2 defeat in Hartberg on Sunday was the fourth defeat for the Austrians in the current season. They are currently only at tenth position in the table. “We envisioned it differently,” coach Michael Wimmer said. His players became clear.
“I have been here for two years. “This is now the first real embarrassing situation we have found ourselves in,” said Captain Manfred Fischer on Sky. Andreas Gruber was also served. “It was absolutely not enough,” said the goalscorer of Austria’s early 1-0 lead. After initial uncertainty, the Viennese Games collapsed. Negative highlights: Hartberg’s 2-1, when the otherwise strong Christian Fruchtl conceded a slapstick goal as did Matan Baltaxa in the draw against Klagenfurt. “We get goals that no other team gets. “You have to be that honest,” Gruber said.
The structure of Vienna Austria in eastern Styria was highly unstable. Even Hartberg coach Markus Schaupp said the visitors could have been 2-0 ahead. In the beginning everything seemed good, the pressure was also fine. But the Styrians remained patient, coordinating better with their opponents and were able to punish an Austria that was becoming increasingly error-prone. Time and again the Wimmer team had to face counter-attacks. The fact is that Dominic Fitz, Reinhold Ranftl and Fischer have looked far from their best form for several weeks.
Fischer complained, “about the stupid mistakes that have been with us for weeks.” We come from nowhere to insecurity”. Fellow man James Holland said he played “a little naively at times” – he was not the first Austrian professional to make this analysis this season. Meanwhile, Austria’s supporters started looking towards Berlin a little sadly. There, Haris Tabakovic scored three goals to lead Hertha to victory. Since the departure of the Swiss, Gruber has been practically the only entertainer at the front. Hoffenheim loanee Fisnik Aslani is still in Vienna and too little to assess. For the majority of the half-hour, Austria could not manage a single dangerous shot on goal after Hartberg’s Ousmane Diakite was sent off.
“There’s a certain frustration in guys’ minds that it won’t come out,” Coach Wimmer said. The Hartberg game probably didn’t help us deal with this. Wimmer also said, “I can talk all I want, the most important thing is the feeling of accomplishment.” You have to finish a game “dirty”. The next opportunity for this will be in Altach on Saturday. Vorarlberg is three points ahead of Austria. Austrian President Kurt Golovitzer also had little to say about the Hartberg game. He said in a Sky interview that the club, known to struggle financially, had to implement an “austerity programme”. However, this should not affect the sports field.
