Straightforward victory for Salzburg in cup round of 32
RB Salzburg eased past SKN St. Pölten 3-0 in the cup round of 32 on Saturday evening at the stadion in Lower Austria. The visitors ended a barren spell in front of goal and moved clear with three goals in the first half and early second half. It was a result that reflected their recent form rather than anything unexpected from the hosts.
H. Tabakovic opened the scoring in the twenty-third minute, finishing a move that had been building since the opening whistle. A. Camara doubled the advantage ten minutes later, capitalising on space left by a defence that had not won since their last league game. B. Mazurek added a third in the fifty-first minute, making the difference when the tie was already decided.
P. Rupp came on for Salzburg in the forty-sixth minute, one of several changes that kept fresh legs on the pitch. The hosts responded with three substitutions in the fifty-sixth minute — N. Veratschnig, E. Baidoo and K. Konate all replaced one another. L. Gabbichler, J. Mellberg, and later L. Buchegger and J. Amon joined the reshuffle as the game settled into its rhythm.
By then the statistics told a different story to the result. Both sides registered fifty percent possession, yet Salzburg's five shots on target produced three goals while St. Pölten's nine shots on target failed to find the net. The hosts won ten corners to their visitors' three, but the numbers did not capture how quickly the game had been decided.
Saltzburg's recent run — five wins in their last five matches including a 5-1 thrashing of Rapid Wien — had prepared them for this kind of performance. St. Pölten, meanwhile, had lost four of their previous five games and were left exposed once again. The gap in points between them in the table will only widen after tonight's defeat.