“Gizo Mamageishvili was booked for a foul in the opening exchanges, setting an early combative tone to the contest and hinting at the physical nature of what was to come.”
“Yorbe Vertessen broke the deadlock for Salzburg, finishing to give the hosts a deserved lead that they would hold for the better part of 70 minutes.”
Pivotal“With the clock running out, substitute Axel Kayombo — on the pitch for barely two minutes — levelled for Sturm Graz in stoppage time to snatch a share of the spoils and deny Salzburg what had looked a certain three points.”
Pivotal
Salzburg
Sturm Graz
Salzburg looked on course for a comfortable home win after Yorbe Vertessen's 22nd-minute strike gave them the lead, and for much of the contest they were the sharper side in front of goal despite Sturm Graz enjoying the majority of possession. The visitors controlled the ball — 55% of it — and created more big chances (three to Salzburg's two), but were profligate in the extreme, missing all three of those big opportunities while Salzburg's goalkeeper was forced into just two saves all afternoon. It was a damning reflection of Sturm Graz's wastefulness that it ultimately took a substitutes' intervention rather than sustained attacking dominance to salvage a point, with Axel Kayombo arriving off the bench in the 88th minute only to score two minutes later in stoppage time. For Salzburg, the result is a frustrating dropped points at home — their superiority in shots on target (eight to three) underlines just how close they came to taking maximum points, while Sturm Graz will reflect on the point as a fortunate escape given how many clear chances they squandered throughout.
How entertaining was this match?
Axel KayomboAxel Kayombo takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Albert Vallci takes a right-footed shot, but it misses the target.
Axel Kayombo is substituted for Maurice Malone.
Aleksa Terzic comes on for Sota Kitano.
Karim Konate takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Karim Konate takes a left-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Paul Koller takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Karim Konate comes on for Karim Onisiwo.
Moussa Yeo is on, and Kerim Alajbegovic is off.
Edmund Baidoo is on, and Yorbe Vertessen is off.
Niklas Geyrhofer is on, and Emir Karic is off.
Otar Kiteishvili replaces Gizo Mamageishvili.
Luca Weinhandl comes on for Ryan Fosso.
Emir Karic's left-footed shot is blocked.
Sota Kitano's right-footed shot is saved.
Frans Kratzig takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Paul Koller is substituted off for Jeyland Mitchell.
Sota Kitano takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Emir Karic takes a right-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Albert Vallci takes a shot with his head, but it's blocked.
Soumaila Diabate takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Seedy Jatta takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Sota Kitano's right-footed shot is saved.
Maurice Malone takes a left-footed shot but misses.
The first half ends with a score of 1-0.
Karim Onisiwo takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Jeyland Mitchell takes a header shot but misses.
Sota Kitano takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Albert Vallci attempted a header but missed the shot.
Kerim Alajbegovic's left-footed shot is blocked.
Gizo Mamageishvili takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Maurice Malone takes a left-footed shot, but it is saved.
Ryan Fosso takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Yorbe Vertessen takes a right-footed shot that hits the post.
Emir Karic takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Yorbe VertessenYorbe Vertessen takes a right-footed shot and scores.
Yorbe Vertessen takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Yorbe VertessenGoal! Yorbe Vertessen scores to make it 1-0.
Kerim Alajbegovic takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
Kerim Alajbegovic takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Yellow card shown to Gizo Mamageishvili.
Jacob Hodl takes a left-footed shot, but it's blocked.
Sota Kitano takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Outstanding performance
Sturm Graz•GoalkeeperWith Sturm Graz sitting top of the Admiral Bundesliga and Salzburg breathing down their necks just 10 points behind, Sunday's Red Bull Arena derby could be a season-defining moment. The two sides have served up drama all campaign, and with Champions League qualifying spots on the line, neither can afford to slip up.
