LASK met Sturm Graz in the Women's League regular season on Thursday evening and lost 0-2. The visitors took all three points as they moved clear at the summit of the table. By then, the league had settled into a shape that this result only confirmed.
And here's the thing about the first goal — it came on the stroke of half-time. B. Pulins found the net in the 45th minute to give Sturm Graz the lead. LASK had been holding their shape, but the break came at the wrong moment for them.
To be fair, the hosts could have responded before the interval, but instead they had to chase the game from the restart. L. Sipos doubled the advantage at the 51st minute, and M. Sterrer had just come off the bench for Sturm Graz at that point. It was a quick shift of momentum.
Sturm Graz then managed the game carefully. D. Tuppinger and L. Schmidle came on as the visitors looked to see it out, while S. Raamet picked up a yellow card in the 64th minute. B. Pulins herself was withdrawn at 90+1 minutes, and L. Krumbock arrived at 90+3 minutes to round off the evening.
The table tells the story now. Sturm Graz sit first with 13 points from five games, four wins and a draw without a loss. LASK are seventh with four points from one win, a draw and three defeats. The gap between them is widening, and this result did not help the home side's position at all.