Austrian journalists are inspired by the Sturm game. If after the first match they were disappointed and criticized the club from Graz, then after the return match, local journalists have a completely different mood. The most important thing is that they saw a perspective in the Sturm game. The prospect of performing well this season, including in European competitions. And here it is no longer so important in which tournament Sturm will play, because everyone understands that it would be almost impossible to beat Benfica. It is important that Sturm has proved that it can play on equal terms with teams of the Dynamo level, which play consistently in European competitions and often reach the playoffs.
Der standard
A journalist from the popular publication Der Standard wrote that Sturm failed in the Champions League qualification. At the same time, he still praised the Austrian club for their courageous game, which gave everyone hope for reaching the next round and thanks to which Sturm was close to beating Dynamo on aggregate.
“The turning point has not arrived. Sturm lost to Dynamo Kyiv in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Despite a strong game, Christian Ilzer's team lost to the Ukrainians in extra time with a total score of 1:2 (1:0 in regular time and 1:2 after extra time) in front of 14,000 fans at the Graz Merkur Arena. Mircea Lucescu's team won the first match with a score of 1:0, and won 3:1 on aggregate. It's all over for Sturm in the Champions League. Now he will try to show his best in the Europa League.
"Sturm" went on the attack from the first minutes, but the guests had the first dangerous moment: Shaparenko shot from a good position just above the goal. And after that, Sturm created several dangerous chances at once, but scored only in the 27th minute, although he could have done it much earlier. In the second half, the teams exchanged chances, and Garmash could equalize and finish the game in regular time, but hit the crossbar.
When Dynamo did score their goal, it seemed that Sturm could save the day, but the senseless withdrawal of Sarkaria helped the Ukrainians to resist and then take advantage of the numerical advantage by scoring the second goal. Dynamo's victory in extra time was well-deserved, but it was predictable, since Sturm simply did not have enough strength for 120 minutes of play. The club from Graz had to decide everything in 90 minutes, but they couldn't do it and left the tournament."
Heute
“No Champions League! Dynamo broke the heart of Sturm in extra-times, ”this is the name of the match report on the Heute website. The journalist tells readers about how Sturm boldly fought Dynamo, created many chances and should have won by 2-3 goals, but lost in extra time.
“The Sturm dream of the Champions League collapses in a thriller match against Dynamo in extra time. The Austrian club is forced to be content with participation in the Europa League. It's a shame for "Storm". Firstly, the Austrian club misses the opportunity to earn 5 million euros - this is a bonus from UEFA for those who are eliminated from the Champions League in the playoffs. That kind of money would definitely not interfere with the club from Graz.
Secondly, Sturm could finally go further for the first time in 52 years after the away defeat in the first match. After the game in Łódź, it seemed that the series would continue, but the duel in Graz gave hope that Sturm would be able to overcome this curse. Couldn't.
Thirdly, the team showed a good game and looked better than Dynamo, so it was especially annoying to lose in such a match. It is also worth recalling that Sarkaria will now miss at least one match in the group stage of the Europa League, which is also unpleasant.
In conclusion, I would like to thank Sturm for the grandiose gesture. 14,000 fans were at the stadium, of which 1,000 seats were occupied by Ukrainian refugees, whom the club helped to get to the game, despite the huge excitement among Sturm fans who wanted to see the match.”
Kronen Zeitung
"Heilund's goal was not enough to get Sturm into the next round of the Champions League." The journalist of the Kronen Zeitung publication praised Sturm for playing in the second leg with Dynamo and wrote that the Austrian club had good chances to beat Mircea Lucescu's team, but Sturm did not have the strength to play as well in extra-times.
Sturm has almost fulfilled its dream of qualifying for the Champions League playoffs. But only almost... Rasmus Heilund's goal made the Ukrainians nervous. Sturm even won regular time, but in extra-times the Austrian club began to make too serious mistakes, due to which they will now have to play in the Europa League.
Why is everyone saying that going to the next round was a dream? The point here is not so much in the game against a specific opponent, but in a sad pattern. You'll have to read football history books to find out when Sturm was last able to win at home and advance to the next round after losing away. The last time this happened was in the 1970/71 season in the Fair Cup against the Finnish club Tampere. After 52 years, Sturm was closer than ever to repeating history. But again failed to do so...
In general, Ilzer's team performed well and dominated this game. Buschan became the hero of the Ukrainian club. The goalkeeper of Dynamo again played very strong, and it is to him that teammates should be grateful. If not for Buschan, then we would hardly have seen extra-times in which Dynamo managed to turn the tide of the game.
A 2-0 score after 90 minutes of play would have been more reflective of what was happening on the pitch. But they failed to score the second goal. "Storm" could and even had to go further, but did not realize its chances. To play in the group stage of the Champions League, you need to use chances. "Sturm" was not weaker than "Dynamo" in terms of the sum of two meetings, but cannot boast of such an implementation. Now the Austrian club will play in the Europa League."
Anton PROKOPOV
