GAK crisis deepens despite "huge effort"

Only one win under Scheiblehner

The manager's record so far also makes for sobering reading. Since taking over on matchday five, Scheiblehner has won just one of his eight league games. There have been four draws and three defeats for GAK.

His average points tally stands at 0.875 per game. Predecessor Ferdinand Feldhofer managed 1.20 points per match.

Particularly painful: This is already the fourth time under Scheiblehner that the Graz side have thrown away a lead.

"We essentially gifted the game away"

Following the latest defeat, Scheiblehner was left rueing his team's individual mistakes. "Shortly before the 1-1, we lost two duels on the wing carelessly. We simply gave Lustenau something we shouldn't have given them," the 49-year-old analyzed on "Sky".

Even after the equalizer and the subsequent red card for Yannick Oberleitner, the head coach felt his team remained in the contest for a long time. The frustration over the closing stages was all the greater: "Then, instead of a counter-attack to potentially make it 2-1 for us, we lose the ball and concede the 1-2."

His conclusion was predictably grim: "I think we deserved to leave with a point. [...] In the end, we essentially gifted the game away."

"We didn't reward ourselves for a huge effort"

Christopher Cvetko could also barely hide his disappointment. The midfielder feels his side is on the right track in terms of fighting spirit, but is well aware of the costly errors: "We didn't reward ourselves for a huge effort in terms of fight."

The 29-year-old was particularly self-critical regarding the decisive goal conceded. After winning possession, he should have opted for a simpler solution: "Instead of just playing the ball long, it got intercepted, and unfortunately I have to take responsibility for the goal."

For Cvetko, it is clear that the team must pull themselves out of the slump: "It's entirely down to us to pull ourselves out of this." During the international break, they want to work hard to turn things around before the winter break.

Tough schedule ahead

However, the Graz side won't have much time to breathe. Following the international break, four challenging fixtures await against Rapid (home), Altach (home), Hartberg (away), and SK Sturm (home).

Scheiblehner, meanwhile, sees little point in knee-jerk actions during the break. Despite the latest setback, he saw improvement: "We took a big step forward today."

Whether this progress translates into results will become clear in the coming weeks. GAK urgently need points to avoid slipping even deeper into the relegation zone.