Crisis continues! WAC crashes out of Cup against Hertha Wels

Surprise in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup!

WAC remains winless since August; the Carinthians lose the Round of 16 match against Hertha Wels 0-1.

WAC has been in crisis mode for weeks; their last victory came on the first Bundesliga matchday, and even reaching the Cup Round of 16 was only achieved after a penalty shootout against regional league team Parndorf.

Accordingly, the Carinthians' self-confidence is low, and it's not getting any better. In the fourth minute, Tolgahan Sahin finds space, takes a shot from about 25 meters, and buries the ball into the top left corner to give Wels a 1-0 lead.

Weak first half for Wolfsberg

WAC is then shocked and finds no solutions at all.

Hertha Wels sits deep and focuses on quick transitions. WAC coach Manfred Schmid is so dissatisfied that he makes an early substitution in the 36th minute, bringing on Phillip Verhounig for Aaron Sky-Schwarz.

Shortly thereafter, a free-kick from Dominik Fitz creates the first danger for the Bundesliga team, but Giacomo Vrioni heads wide. At the other end, Lukas Gütlbauer is on hand to deny Din Barlov.

With a narrow but deserved lead for the Upper Austrians, they head into halftime.

Schröcker keeps a clean sheet

The second half is more balanced; Hertha Wels goalkeeper Kilian Schröcker is called into action several times, for example, after headers from Fitz and Vrioni, and Donis Avdijaj also curls a shot wide.

At the other end, Marek Svec fails to score on the counter-attack, and in the 62nd minute, Christopher Wernitznig, who had just come on, hits the crossbar.

In the final phase, WAC pushes again against the defeat, but Fabian Wohlmuth, free from close range, once again fails against Schröcker. WAC's desperate attacks in injury time also fail to yield success.

Hertha Wels thus reaches the ÖFB Cup quarter-finals for the first time in its club history, while for the 2025 title holder, the Cup season is already over.