Julio Arellano: Salzburg earn promotion with 3-0 win over Sturm Graz

Salzburg continues its advance in the Admiral Bundesliga, while Puntigamer Sturm Graz loses sight of the race for first place. Julio Arellano of GEPA describes how the 3-0 win on Sunday in the direct duel pushed Danny Röhl’s now 14‑time league‑match unbeaten team past champions LASK and secured second place in the table.

Success run of the "Bulls"

Center‑back Valentin Zabransky said after the victory that the squad would go into the international break calmly and wanted to continue the run afterwards. The last three home games – 4-1 against Austria, 5-1 against Rapid and now 3-0 against Sturm – went according to the taste of the team of coach Danny Röhl.

Match progression against Sturm Graz

Against Sturm Graz, who had previously been unbeaten in six games, the match was on a knife‑edge for a long time. For seventy minutes the Grazers dominated the play and were even superior to the Salzburgers, but they allowed hardly any dangerous chances in their own penalty area. Kevin Boma, 23, was not only the defensive leader but headed the crucial 2-0 for the Salzburgers before Jürgen Heil of Sturm saw a yellow‑red.

The 0-1 for Salzburg came about because referee Isa Simsek did not stop the game after a injury to Arjen Malic. Nikolas Veratschnig eventually happily put the ball into the net. The third goal came from a side‑volley by Aboubacar Camara, another highlight of the evening.

Sturm Graz has scored only eight goals this season, while the runner‑up's goal difference is now negative with nine conceded goals. Defender Joshua Quarshie called the result the "shitty proverb" that if you don't score up front, you fall back. Coach Fabio Ingolitsch noted that the result after 90 minutes "looks funny and wrong".

Ingrid Ingolitsch, the coach of Sturm, said it was the first time in his life that he congratulated his team after a 0-3. He criticised the aggressive pressing that over‑ran the Salzburg midfield, and lamented the lack of firepower in attack, with the deployed Oumar Diakite having little impact.

Sturm Graz now lacks the injury‑related absence of Otar Kiteischwili, who is heading to the Georgian national team. Ingolitsch rates the chance of his return at 50‑50. Despite the setback, Sturm remains active in the race for the top places, as LASK is still five points behind them and league leaders Rapid have a seven‑point lead.