Late Hartwig Brace: SKN Defeats Liefering with a Man Advantage

In the IMMOunited match concluding the 6th round of the ADMIRAL 2. Liga, SKN St. Pölten secured a 3-1 victory against FC Liefering and can celebrate their second consecutive triumph after four defeats to start the season.

The visitors were the better team from the start; after only a few seconds, Liefering keeper Jonas Winklhofer had to intervene for the first time following a shot from Winfred Amoah (1st minute).

The Lower Austrians remained on the offensive afterwards; Lassina Traore cleared a header from Lukas Buchegger off the line (6th minute), and Christoph Messner fired a half-volley just wide of the goal (10th minute).

David Scores Debut Goal - Liefering Down to Ten Men

After just over a quarter of an hour, SKN deservedly took the lead: following build-up play from EL Hadj Mane on the left flank, Gabriel Jesus David scored a debut goal (18th minute).

Little came from the hosts until then; shortly after, Danny Galm's team weakened themselves further: Lassina Traore received a yellow-red card as early as the 21st minute.

Even with the numerical advantage, little changed in the game's flow. However, Jonathan Amon failed to beat Winklhofer (29th minute), as did Marc Stendera with a free-kick (39th minute) and Mane just before halftime (45.+3).

Lively Back-and-Forth in the Second Half

After the break, the match developed into an open contest, with the hosts creating the first big chance.

Following a great combination involving several players, Julian Hussauf broke through on the right wing, but Miha Matjasec failed to beat Christopher Knett from a promising position after his captain's cross (54th minute).

Marc Stendera created SKN's first chance with a shot from just outside the penalty area (60th minute), and in the immediate counter-attack, Matjasec went on a solo run and set up Jakob Zangerl in the box, but he failed to beat Knett twice (61st minute).

Liefering Equalizes with Ten Men

After that, chances came almost minute-by-minute for both sides: Amon tried it alone but found his match in Winklhofer (64th minute), as did Mane (66th minute).

After Tejiri Adejenughure had chances at one end (69th minute) and Amon at the other (71st minute), the hosts rewarded themselves for their efforts with ten men:

Yerwin Sulbaran delivered a pinpoint cross to Said Nisic, who headed in the equalizer (77th minute).

Hartwig Brace Secures Second Consecutive SKN Victory

However, the celebration for the 1-1 equalizer did not last long: Timo Altersberger found substitute Luis Hartwig with a superb through-ball, and after Zangerl inadvertently extended the play, the substitute striker put SKN back in front with his first touch (82nd minute).

In the final sprint, the Lower Austrians pushed for the decider. After Hartwig (83rd minute), Amon (85th minute), and Christoph Messerer (90th minute) squandered good chances, Hartwig finally sealed the deal with his brace (90.+3).

St. Pölten, who now secure their second consecutive win after their 1-0 victory over Austria Salzburg, climb to 13th place in the table. Liefering, however, missed the chance to move into the top two.

ADMIRAL 2. Liga Table >>>