With a hard-fought performance, SK Sturm secured three very important points with a 3-1 win at Hartberg. With six rounds remaining, Grasse are tied for second on points with Salzburg. “In the end, I don't want to dissect the game too much because it was very affected by the heat. “But I'm very happy that we won, it was a confident performance in the end,” said coach Christian Ilzer.

Alexander Brass' first goal in the ninth minute was also crucial for the cup finalists due to high temperatures. “It was a good goal at the right time. After that we were able to be a bit more active. However, we never allowed Hartberg to get into the danger zone because Sturm couldn't play the traditional cross game for more than 90 minutes in the summer conditions at Hartberg. “You have to play a bit more economically. The way we play, on a day like this you can't play like you normally would at 2:30 p.m.

Sturm play in the fourth round of the championship group for the third time at 2:30 p.m., and they still have an afternoon meeting ahead of them. Salzburg, on the other hand, only have evening games in the Championship group. A situation that irritated Christian Ilzer. “They don't get the pleasure of playing so early in this temperature. But that's why I got a better color than my colleague Gerhard Strueber.