‘Oh. Why are you going to St. Johann?’
‘To watch Austria Salzburg’.
Oh. Are you one of the Violetten?’
‘You were too, until 6 years ago’.
Everybody falls into that trap, but it seemed I was also setting a trap for myself. If I say I am going to do something, I HAVE to do it. I really meant it honestly at 6pm on Friday evening; and even more honestly at 2am when I left, but by 10am the following morning, when I woke up, the first doubts began to emerge. Anyway, to cut a long story short – we got well and truly shagged in the rain by St Johann 6-3 on Saturday afternoon.
Unsurprisingly enough, Bernd Winkler – who also knows Tschibo – was also there until 10 pm, at which time he finished his piece of whole-wheat crisp-bread and his glass of still mineral water, and set off home with his Bible in one hand and dietary planner in the other. His presence was no surprise to me because everybody in Abtenau knows everybody else in Abtenau. I don’t know if he understood everything I said, because I realised that I was badly slurring my words and I couldn’t even understand myself, but I remember saying to him: ‘We have a problem playing against counter-attacking teams. We just run at them again and again and again until we lose the ball and they score a quick goal (see SAK, see St Johann last year, see even Wattens). There is no strategy for holding the ball and letting the opponent come out of hiding. We run ourselves ragged and lose’.
To his credit Berndt said the Austria team was stronger this year and St Johann weren’t in good form, and that he believed we would win. Now we may have a stronger team than last year, but the game plan seems to have remained the same – ‘Charge!!!’ As, due to the exquisite alcoholic poisons I was funnel-fed in Abtenau, I was unable to make that physical leap of solidarity into the front seat of the Rogemobile, I cannot tell you how the game developed, but a scoreline of 6-3 says our defence was open like a barn door in a storm – our storm!
Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was any number of other factors. It doesn’t prove I was right, but wouldn’t it be good if we could set up standardised attacks without committing the whole team to a charge upfield? Do I have to go to the cup game on Tuesday to do penance for my sins?
Maybe.
TSV St. Johann - SV Austria Salzburg 6-3 (3-1)
Austria Salzburg played with:
Eisl; Kircher, Sonko, Reifeltshammer, Hirsch; Urbanek (73. Federer), Borozni (46. Pavlovic), Kletzl, N. Mayer, Märzendorfer (46. P. Mayer); Vujic
Goals:
1-0: Barnjak (2.)
2-0: Krimbacher (10.)
2-1: Urbanek (11.) (Assist: Sonko)
3-1: Krimbacher (30.)
4-1: Barnjak (54.)
5-1: Gruber (57.)
5-2: Vujic (62., penalty)
5-3: Reifeltshammer (85.) (Assist: Hirsch)
6-3: Barnjak (91.)
Shots total: St. Johann 16 / Austria 18
Shots on target: St. Johann 12 / Austria 9
Shots blocked: St. Johann 0 / Austria 5
Corners: St. Johann 6 / Austria 6
Fouls: St. Johann 22 / Austria 19
Offsides: St. Johann 3 / Austria 2
Yellow cards:
St. Johann: 2 (Barnjak, 25./unsporting behaviour; Seidl, 87./foul)
Austria: 4 (Reifeltshammer, 25./unsporting behaviour; N. Mayer, 73./foul; Sonko, 77./unsporting behaviour; P. Mayer, 80./foul)
St. Johann/Pongau, 600 spectators
Ref: Wolfgang Wallesch
