SKN Frauen and Sturm battle for a place in the Europa Cup

In the NV Arena, the SKN women's team lost the qualification first leg against Malmö FF 0-2 on Wednesday, while Sturm Graz were defeated 1-6 in their opening match against VfL Wolfsburg – both results make reaching the round of 16 of the Women’s Europa Cup more difficult.

Preparation and Warm-up

SKN St. Pölten had already tuned up for the Europa Cup appearance on Saturday with a 9-1 victory over the joint team Südburgenland/TSV Hartberg, which was their sixth win in six games.

SKN vs Malmö

In the second round tournament the Swedes dominated already before the break, with Tuva Skoog at the centre. She missed the goal in the 17th minute, but surprised Carina Schlüter with a shot into the short corner in the 20th minute. The SKN forward kept the team alive in the 32nd and 36th minutes in a direct duel with Skoog.

The hosts only became dangerous in the final push of the first half: Fanni Vago missed a pass from Matavkova in the 40th minute, and Magdalena Rukavina hit the post after a corner kick in the 41st minute. Overall the SKN women lacked the decisive finishes.

The second goal for Malmö came in the 80th minute after a nice move, finished by Vesna Milivojevic, while the Austrian goalkeeper Kristin Krammer was on the bench.

Coach Laurent Fassotte summed up the match: “We actually played a good game, but we were not dangerous enough, the final pass was missing and they gave us big problems. We are disappointed.” He added: “We will not give up, we have to believe in that.”

Sturm vs Wolfsburg

Sturm Graz were immediately under pressure when Ella Peddemors scored in the 10th minute and Lara Prasnikar in the 13th minute. Before the break, Smilla Vallotto scored in the 30th minute and Svenja Huth in the 37th minute with another double strike.

After the break Sturm paid a high price: Brigitta Pulins netted the consolation goal in the 53rd minute after work by Breznik. Shortly before the end the hosts scored twice more, Katharina Piljic in the 83rd minute and Lena Lattwein in the 86th minute.

Next Wednesday the SKN women and Sturm will meet their opponents again at the Graz‑Liebenau stadium, each looking to overturn the deficit; the Sturm team's match will be broadcast live on ORF 1.