Oh yes, it was another one of those Austria days. If we don’t take our happy-home-win pills we are very prone to mood swings and throwing the toys out of the push chair. It was one of those days when I’d decided to go in among the Ultras with Mikko as it’s fun to shout your lungs out for 90 minutes and, ultimately, that’s the best way to support your team – isn’t it?
The stand only seemed to be half full and with a crowd of just 1000 you have to assume some people had opted for a sunny afternoon instead of a beery afternoon in the shade of our corrugated roof. Having been given a conditional OK from ‘her indoors’ to have a few beers at the game, I got the first round in for Mikko and Barbara F and was happily shal-la-la-ing along nicely when ‘bang’ – 1 - 0 for Altach, and an essential part of the gameplan (drink beer, have fun, sing along, win the game, drink more beer) was shaken at its foundations after just ten minutes by Altach’s Julian Erhart. After ten minutes it’s often hard to say whether you’ve made typical systemic mistakes or you were just unlucky, so the immediate reaction was of course to get behind the team – and have another beer.
In the ensuing minutes we looked to be working hard at getting back at them and had the balance of play. I’d forgotten how difficult it is to drink and clap and sing and chant and shout, because normally I stand at the back of the seated section with all the other hardcore moaners. With Salva, Sappo and the Ultras it’s like a 90-minute non-stop warm-up exercise, except that after 90 minutes you are drunk and dizzy from always forcing the air out of your lungs – and of course due to the alcohol!
At 0 – 1 at half time it was hard to say whether the lack of enthusiasm was due to the fact that fewer people were at the game than on a cloudy Saturday, or because we couldn’t honestly see Altach buckling under the pressure (because they weren’t under pressure). They were tested, but not challenged. Whereas we, as always, were pushing up and trying to spread the ball wide in an area filled with players, Altach were very quick to smother our attacks, nicking the ball and needed very few passes to get the ball moving in the direction of our goal.
The second half progressed in the same fashion, except that Märzendorfer had been brought on for Reifeltshammer and Patrick Mayer for Peter Urbanek. I understand the virtues of rotation, but as long as your best players are fit, shouldn’t we play all our best players? All four would have been in my starting line-up. We had some chances, but nothing that had to go in, and we were burning up a lot of energy when – ‘IT’ happened. 2 – 0 to Altach! While we had been arsing about with fifteen million passes backwards and forwards, Altach had been doing the same things all day – tackling hard and early in midfield, especially the excellent Matthias Hopfer, and keeping the ball moving fast through to the front. Horrible!
I can’t remember that we were ever 2-0 down at home in a league game and there was an air of half-heartedness as Salva tried to get the sector animated again. There are some automatic reactions that come with disappointment and I guessed that at the next opportunity we’d be hearing the first strains of ‘Emich raus’. The team was obviously shaken and for the first time at home we were looking at the definite possibility of defeat and a kind of cold fear seemed to set in. Surely enough, four minutes later we were opened up like a sardine can yet again and at 3-0 down the plastic beakers came splashing down accompanied by the inevitable ‘Emich raus’ chants. Altach were very business-like and just got on with the game whereas we were obviously in one of those life-defining crises we love so much. The mixture of tired legs and negative adrenaline allowed the game to fall apart somewhat and it no longer looked like we expected anything other than pain. None of the various factions and supporters’ groups could decide on a common course of action, Schützei cancelled his gig, and even Salva and Sappo packed up for the day. On 86 minutes we got some more pain and more beer rain as another goal, 4-0 sealed our fate.
I can only put my spin on the whole thing. I can’t speak for anybody other than myself. I can’t pretend to know everything. We have so many opportunities to express our opinions in forums, with petitions, at general meetings, at monthly get-togethers, at training sessions...., but when it comes to match days I understand my job as being a supporter. Austria Salzburg is my club and I want the best for the club, so all I can do is play my role and support the club. And when my club is having a bad day or even a bad season, I have to be there. I admit, there are people who maybe have more right to express their opinion – people who go to every game, however far away – but I don’t see the point in criticising or insulting the manager or the team during the 90 minutes; they are only human!
So anyway, after all that stress and questioning the point of our own existence, we had to go out to the Maxglan street party for a few drinks and then into the town to get incredibly drunk. We’re only human too!
See you in Saalfelden!
Roge
SV Austria Salzburg - Altach Amateure 0-4 (0-1)
Austria Salzburg played with:
Trappl; Kreuzwirth, Sonko, Schmidt, Kircher; Urbanek (46. P. Mayer), Borozni, N. Mayer (65. Federer), Reifeltshammer (46. Märzendorfer), Pavlovic; Vujic
Goals:
0-1: Erhart (10.)
0-2: Bachstein (63.)
0-3: Umjenovic (67.)
0-4: Feuerstein (86.)
Shots total: Austria 12 / Altach 12
Shots on target: Austria 4 / Altach 8
Corner: Austria 3 / Altach 3
Fouls: Austria 13 / Altach 18
Offsides: Austria 1 / Altach 7
Yellow cards:
Austria: 2 (Kircher, 62./foul; Borozni, 90./foul)
Altach: 0
Salzburg-Maxglan, MyPhone-Austria-Stadion, 1040 spectators
Ref: Michael Daxauer; Assistants: Josef Stöckl, Daniel Bramböck
