Daniel Goriupp disrupted the forward birthday party

Free beer, barbecue and finally more than 1000 fans once again in the Liwest Arena on Volksstrasse – everything was set up for an exuberant celebration of the 105th birthday against the WAC Amateurs, bottom of the table in the Central Regional League, with the fifth home win in a row of the SK BMD Vorwärts Steyr. But then things got worse than coach Markus Eitl had predicted in his analysis before the game against Wolfsberg: “We have to invest everything we can to really score points here.”

Whether the WAC invested everything remains to be seen. But the fact is that the Carinthians scored a lot of points and still started the journey home from Steyr with three points in their luggage as bottom of the table.

Trailing after eight minutes

Eitl’s warning about the guests was justified in the third minute. A shot from WAC captain Karic landed just next to the goal of forward goalkeeper Michael Fauland. But just five minutes later it was 0-1. 19-year-old Daniel Goriupp was there after the forward defense failed to control the ball.

It was a wake-up call for the Red and Whites, who from then on put more effort into the game. Mirsad Sulejmanovic failed at first, but in the 25th minute Milan Ziric was there with a header from a free kick and made it 1-1. Shortly before the half-time whistle, an energetic push from Oliver Filip would have deserved a goal, but his pass from Stangl found no takers.

The guests also started the game better in the second half. And it was Goriupp once again who finally became a party crasher with his fourth goal of the season in the 64th minute. He completed his solo through the forward defense with a powerful shot under the crossbar to make it 1-2. It stayed that way, as forward captain Stefan Goldnagl, among others, narrowly failed twice with a header.

SKV coach Markus Eitl was a little perplexed after the final whistle: “Unfortunately, we find it difficult when the team feels like they are favorites.” But Eitl also hinted at self-criticism: Maybe he didn’t nominate the eleven players for the starting lineup that were suitable against the WAC.

Eight points left

It will take some time to lick the wounds after this defeat, but he has still drawn his conclusions: “In this evenly balanced league, it’s the little things that make the difference. And if the desire to defend is lacking, as is the willingness to run and we’re not grippy enough overall, then We also lose against teams from the bottom third.”

Vorwärts is currently in the top half of the table in sixth place, but the gap to a relegation zone is only eight points.