Austria put one foot in Europe after beating Wolfsberger 3:0 at home in the first leg of their tie. Goals at the start of each period proved decisive with the hosts dominant and deserving of this big win. Wolfsberger struggled to create chances all game and despite dominating possession they looked very shaky defensively.

Less than 2 minutes were played when inviting cross from the left saw Sarkaria giving Austria the lead. This early development seriously upset the visitors, who were lucky not to concede more in the next 15 minutes when Djuricin fired narrowly wide and Wimmer’s shot require diving save.

Gradually as the half progressed Wolfsberger improved and especially past the half hour mark the visitors enjoyed serious possession dominance. Liendl kept trying to pick up teammates with clever passes, but Austria’s defenders dominated and the visitors never registered a shot on target before the break.

Things repeated at the start of the second half with Djuricin making it 2:0 less than a minute into the period. Once again this goal gave Austria momentum for the next 10 minutes with Fitz and Wimmer both curling efforts wide.

Wolfsberger again gained the ball control past the hour mark, but they continued to struggle creating chances and eventually Austria hit them on counterattack with Djuricin scoring his second.

Late on Austria could have even increased their lead further but Pichler’s effort came off the post, while Wolfsberger had to wait 83 minutes for their only big chance of the game which was missed by Dieng.

The result from this first leg means that Austria now simply have to be smart on their visit to Wolfsberger for the return leg, while the Wolves have no choice but to throw everything in attack.