Duels against Lafnitz, Kapfenberg and Dornbirn should end soon at SKN St. Polten. Alternatively, Salzburg, Rapid and Austria could be guests at the NV Arena again next season. After two years in the second division, SKN wants to return to the Bundesliga. They are currently at the top of the table. On Friday evening (8:30 pm, live on ORF Sport +) there will be a second league summit meeting against chasers Blau-Weiss Linz.
St. Polten’s sporting leadership sees SKN as an outsider ahead of the first game. “This year we showed that we can beat any opponent. But we also saw that if we don’t give 100 per cent, it will be difficult against any opponent. Our development is not over yet. You won’t break a leg if we play in the second division for two years,” says Managing Director Jan Schlaudraff. Another year or two.”
The rival Blau-Weiss Linz also exercised noble restraint – goalkeeper Ronivaldo did not want to know anything about the initial decision. “We still have four tough games. Even if we win in St. Polten, anything can happen after that.”
He regretted the lack of support from the fans
SKN St. Pölten had a sold-out house in the first game. The spectator capacity is expected to reach 4,000, which means the NV Arena is half empty. Even in recent home matches the ground advantage was manageable, in the 1-1 draw against Steyr the fans even whistled the team. Schlaudraff: “Even if the team didn’t perform well, they deserve to take more credit for the fans for what has been a great season.”
SKN women can all but decide the championship titles
At the top of the women’s Bundesliga, things aren’t quite as tight as in the men’s second division. Here too, there will be a duel between first and second on the weekend (Saturday, 5.30pm). With a win away to chaser Sturm Graz, SKN had an eight-point lead three laps before the end. The eighth championship title in a row can hardly be snatched from the Wolves.
The postponement of the game from Sunday to Saturday caused controversy in advance. Since the entire training ground at Sturm am Sunday is being used by the men’s team, the first game in the women’s Bundesliga was sluggish. For SKN-Frauen president Willi Schmaus, the moral is the importance of women’s football in Austria: “It’s the case of all clubs that women have to queue at the back. You can already see the hierarchy if you look at the fields they have to play on in some Sometimes, though, there are larger stadiums.”
