Women's Nations League

Historic! Austria wins 1st match against Scots

Great joy for the Austrians

(Bild: GEPA)

Alexander Schriebl's debut as women's soccer team manager was a success! The ÖFB team beat Scotland 1:0 (1:0) in the Innviertel Arena in Ried on Friday evening to make a successful start to Group A1 of the Nations League.

Thanks to a goal from Lilli Purtscheller (14th), they also gained revenge for their defeat to Scotland in the 2022 World Cup play-off in Glasgow. It was also their first win in five matches after four defeats.

Purtscheller, the attacking player who missed important chances in the lost European Championship play-off duels with Poland in the fall, was the match-winner in front of just 1,750 spectators. For the 23-year-old Tyrolean, it was goal number 3 in her 19th international match.

With the win, the Austrians took the first step towards staying in the top A division and also boosted their confidence for Tuesday's match with group favorites Germany. The Germans drew 2:2 (1:1) against the Netherlands in Breda. The Austrians will therefore start the bus trip from the team camp in Geinberg to Nuremberg on Sunday as league leaders.

Surprises in the starting eleven
Schriebl opted for a 4-1-3-2 formation for his debut. The biggest change from his predecessor Irene Fuhrmann was the introduction of two genuine strikers in Purtscheller and Julia Hickelsberger-Füller. In terms of personnel, the biggest surprise came in defense. With debutant Chiara d'Angelo at right-back and Claudia Wenger, two players from serial champions St. Pölten were included. Italy international Marina Georgieva and neo-Manchester City defender Laura Wienroither were only on the bench. There were three changes compared to the bitter 0:1 against Poland in Vienna.

The newly assembled squad had major problems in the first ten minutes and were lucky not to fall behind quickly. Kirsty Hanson ran at Manuela Zinsberger, but scrambled instead of finishing from the best position (8'). All this after she had already been dangerous shortly before. Martha Ellen Thomas also tested the Austrian goalkeeper (9).

Purtscheller ice-cold at the end
The hosts, on the other hand, were very efficient. After a blocked shot by Sarah Puntigam, the ball landed from a Scottish foot right to Purtscheller, who immediately struck with her left foot from six meters out. Scotland goalkeeper Lee Alexander prevented a double strike from the Essen international with a foot save (16'). Otherwise, there were few chances for the Austrian side. The Scots came extremely close to equalizing, especially after half an hour. First, Sarah Zadrazil cleared a header from Emma Lawton on the line, then Zinsberger deflected Hanson's follow-up shot over the goal in extremis.

After the break, Puntigam and Co. controlled proceedings and the Scots were unable to create any real goal threat. At the other end, the 2:0 was in the air, but Annabel Schasching, who had recently helped out at full-back but was now back in midfield as usual, missed (68'). Another player, Carina Brunold, was allowed to make her debut from the 79th minute onwards - and celebrated properly after the final whistle. The world number 18 kept the 24th-ranked team at bay this time.

The result:
Austria - Scotland 1:0 (1:0)
Ried, Innviertel Arena, 1750 spectators, referee Gasperotti (ITA)

Goal: 1:0 (14.) Purtscheller

Austria: Zinsberger - D'Angelo, Wenger, Kirchberger, Hanshaw - Zadrazil (56. Feiersinger) - Schasching, Höbinger (79. Brunold) Puntigam - Purtscheller, Hickelsberger-Füller (79. Pinther)

Alexander Schriebl (ÖFB team manager)

(Bild: GEPA)

Quotes:

Alexander Schriebl (ÖFB team manager): "We put in a spirited performance right from the start. We managed to get the Scots moving. They had almost no chance out of the game. I think the win was very, very well deserved. The whole week has been outstanding. The girls had an incredibly positive energy. The positive thing for me is how we worked with and for each other. Scotland are a really strong team. With a lot of passion, intellect, heart and a good plan, we can keep games like this close. We'll have to see how it turns out against Germany. They're not the favorites for the European Championship title for nothing."

Lilli Purtscheller (ÖFB goalscorer): "The first few minutes were very hectic because everything was a bit of a shuffle. But I think we were dominant throughout the game and ultimately deserved to win. We really performed as a team today. It's always most important that we march as a unit. We did that well today. The most important thing is that we perform on the pitch. That doesn't have so much to do with who is out there. We did a great job. I think that was just the beginning."

Sarah Zadrazil (ÖFB midfielder): "We set out to bring energy onto the pitch - in every duel with full-throttle pressing. We wanted to make a statement with our presence. I think we did that really well. It was a really good team performance. We could have been a bit calmer with the ball at times, but we were really good against the ball today. We have to make sure that we perfect things. But basically it was a good start."