Deutschlandsberg took five points from their last three matches when they saw off Gleisdorf 09 4-2 at home on Tuesday evening. The result came in the fifth round of the Regional League South, finishing a fixture that had more goals than you might expect from this level of competition.
Before kick-off the hosts sat seventh on eight points with two wins and two draws from five outings. Gleisdorf were thirteen places below them, three points from five games and carrying four defeats. That gap in the table suggested a mismatch on paper, though football rarely plays out as the numbers predict.
Deutschlandsberg had found their rhythm of late. Their last outing before tonight was a 2-2 draw with Tilmisch, and before that a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hartberg's amateurs. They had not been consistent earlier in the season — a 4-0 loss to Weiz and a 1-1 draw with Allerheiligen showed the ups and downs — but the pattern was shifting.
Gleisdorf's form told a different story entirely. They had lost four of their five matches, with only a 1-0 win over Hartberg's second team to show for their efforts. The away record was particularly hard to live with, and tonight offered no reprieve despite the effort they put in to get back into the game.
After five rounds the table is still fluid, but this result tightens things for both sides. Deutschlandsberg move closer to the upper half, while Gleisdorf remain in the lower reaches with work to do. By then they will be looking at what went wrong and what needs to change.