WAC-Sturm too harmless

Goal drought among the successors of Weissman and Co.

The strikers around Markus Pink (left) have not yet been able to distinguish themselves at the WAC.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

With aces like Weissman, Joveljic, Baribo and Co., Bundesliga club WAC has a tradition of strong bombers. At the moment, however, the statistics of the strikers are bleak: Pink, Sabitzer and Karamoko came away completely empty-handed, while talented Kojzek at least scored as a "joker". On Sunday at home against Altach (14.30), the knot should burst.

With 23 goals, the WAC - behind Sturm Graz with 28 - has scored the second most in the Bundesliga. However, Baumgartner and Co. have only managed two goals in their last four games. This is one of the reasons why they only picked up four points. In previous seasons, the "Wolves" have always had top scorers, who have usually been responsible for their success.

Weissman was the best bomber
It started in 2019/20 with super-bomber Shon Weissman (30 goals), followed by Dejan Joveljic (17) and Tai Baribo (11 and 16 respectively) - in the previous season, Mo Bamba had scored six goals by the winter break, while his colleague Augustine Boakye scored nine in the entire season.

So far this season, the strikers have been a mess - no one who has started has scored!

• Erik Kojzek: The 18-year-old was fit earlier than expected after his muscle injury and is already back in training. However, he will still be missing against Altach on Sunday. The youngster stands out among the strikers, netting three times - but always as a "wild card".

Talented Erik Kojzek netted three times, but always as a wild card.

(Bild: Pessentheiner/f. pessentheiner)

• Markus Pink: Four starts, 329 minutes, no goal for the hoped-for striker. The 33-year-old always made the difference for Austria Klagenfurt with twelve (2021/22) and 16 (2022/23) strikes.

Ex-Klagenfurt striker Markus Pink is below expectations.

(Bild: GEPA)

• Thomas Sabitzer: Three times in the starting eleven this season, but the 24-year-old has yet to score in 194 minutes. 

WAC attacking player Thomas Sabitzer only scored two goals in the ÖFB Cup.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

• Sankara Karamoko: The 21-year-old was without a chance at the start of the season, but then scored six times for the amateurs and performed well. "But even after promotion, he came up empty-handed in 150 minutes.

The 1.75-metre small but nimble Karamoko was not yet able to use his speed.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

"Küh" with striker roulette
This is one of the reasons why coach Didi Kühbauer rotated his strikers every week, with winger David Atanga filling in at times. However, the striker roulette has not helped so far. "Of course we worked on finishing during the team break - that's always important for a striker," emphasizes "Küh". "But we also need better solutions up front and better running routes. Then the boys will create more chances."

Altach keeps the games close
Who will the ball fall on against Altach on Sunday? "Karamoko didn't do a bad job against Austria Vienna recently. But he scored just as few goals as the boys before him," says Kühbauer, not looking at his cards. Perhaps the slump will end against the stragglers. "Altach have always kept their games very close recently - we probably won't shoot them out of the stadium."