Hartberg leaves GAK no chance in Styrian derby

In GAK's 1,000th Bundesliga match in club history, they suffer a clear defeat. In the Styrian derby, the Graz side must concede a 4-0 defeat to TSV Hartberg.

Hartberg start the game dominantly despite an early injury to Paul Komposch and are rewarded early.

Nikolaus Feldhofer gets a shot off at the edge of the box but is denied by GAK goalkeeper Cican Stankovic. Angelo Gattermayer picks up the rebound, spots the unmarked Marco Hoffmann, who backheels the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead (12').

Even after taking the lead, the visitors remain the better team and Gattermayer has a great chance to extend the lead after 21 minutes. Gattermayer runs alone towards the goal but puts the ball wide.

GAK without a chance

GAK fails to get into the game at all even after conceding and lets in the second goal after just 26 minutes. Again it's Hoffmann, who is perfectly set up by Magnus Dalpiaz and beats Stankovic with great power from close range. It's already his eighth goal of the season.

Even after the break, the Graz side find no way back. Nikolaus Feldhofer completes a perfectly executed counter-attack, after a one-two with Gattermayer, for the 3-0 lead (63').

Just three minutes later, substitute GAK defender Donovan Pines scores a bizarre own goal to make it 4-0 and seal the decision (66'). Simply nothing works for GAK.

Hartberg climbs to fifth place

Hartberg thus underscore their good form and can temporarily even overtake SV Ried for fifth place.

Meanwhile, GAK's mini-crisis intensifies. After being eliminated from the cup during the week, the hoped-for reaction failed to materialise.

For the Graz side, next Saturday brings a trip to Austria Lustenau. In Vorarlberg, however, a significant improvement is urgently needed.

Hartberg also face a team from Vorarlberg. SCR Altach are visitors on Sunday. In front of their home crowd, the Styrians could take another step towards the upper play-off.