Vienna wins with super-sub goals and a "deep squad"

Squad Depth as an Asset

With the substitutions of Tobias Anselm and Bernhard Zimmermann in the 57th minute, Vienna coach Patrick Enengl showed a golden touch. Anselm scored in the 63rd minute, and Zimmermann followed suit shortly after with a goal of his own.

Enengl's deep squad seems to have molded the "Döblinger" into a serious title contender.

The scorer of the temporary 2-1 goal said in an "ORF" interview that they have an advantage here: "Exactly, that's what the coach always says, no matter who plays for us. We have a deep squad, and today we were able to bring in some great fresh players again. Luckily, we succeeded in bringing new momentum in the second half."

The scorer also paid respect to the opponent and emphasized that the game could have ended differently: "Hats off to the team, it was a really close game. St. Pölten had more possession and had great solutions in their play. We were simply more efficient today and then decided the game in our favor in the middle of the second half."

Vienna has "taken the next step"

Before the international break, the "Döblinger" were unbeaten in six consecutive games. It seems as if the momentum was successfully carried through the break.

Coach Enengl emphasized how his team has developed: "If I look at the guys today, we've really taken another 'step', especially athletically. I am extremely proud of the team, how they performed today, and of course, very happy."

SKN unrewarded once again

On St. Pölten's side, they once again failed to gain any points despite a solid performance. They now slip back to 12th place in the table.

"In the end, the difference was that we perhaps defended a bit naively on two of their goals," summarized SKN coach Cem Sekerlioglu.

His captain Marc Stendera agreed: "It was a hard-fought game: It was a good game, not a bad one from us either. I believe we also had our chances, for example, a huge opportunity after the 1-1 equalizer just before halftime. With a bit of luck, the free-kick goes in, and then an unfortunate counter-attack for the 2-1, which we didn't defend well."

"Referee influences the game"

However, he couldn't hold back his frustration about the contentious referee decisions: "For me, the referee also influences the matches a bit, because I believe you could have already given a yellow-red card in the first half."

A foul not given before Zimmermann's 3-1 goal particularly annoyed the coach: "Also, before the 3-1, there was a clear foul that wasn't penalized. I'm not going to complain, but the referee definitely influences the game."

Here too, Stendera agreed with his coach and wished for a change in mindset from the referees when handling such situations: "In those moments, I would sometimes simply wish that the referees would also admit their mistakes, because that's a clear foul. That's our last man, and that then kills us with the 3-1."

In the next round, St. Pölten can try to turn things around in their home game against Rapid II and catch up in the table. Vienna wants to continue to put pressure on Blau Weiß Linz away in Voitsberg.