UWCL: St. Pölten confidently beat Fortuna Hjørring in first leg of qualifying final | OneFootball

SKN St. Pölten looked dominant as they swept aside Danish side Fortuna Hjørring at the NV Arena in Austria. One more game away in Denmark stands between Pölten and their return to UEFA Women’s Champions League football.

A crowd of just under 1,000 watched the Austrian champions tee up against 2003 UWCL finalists Fortuna Hjørring. It also marked the first taste of UWCL qualifying action for new Pölten head coach Lisa Alzner. She was promoted from assistant coach to the top job towards the end of last season. At 26 years of age, she is one of the youngest elite level managers in the history of women’s football.

Starting XIs

SKN St. Pölten

Schlüter; Balog; Mattner; Laino; Elmore; Brunold; Peneau; Nagy; Mat’avková; Križaj; Klien (C).

Fortuna Hjørring

Părăluță; Masur; Peltonen; Valvik; Hansen; Olar (C); Ogochuckwu; Frank; Johnasson; Riefner; Cordia.

First half dominance for the Austrians

The visiting team couldn’t seem to find a footing in the game as Pölten settled into a rhythm. Sarah Mattner showed several times that she was far too skilful for the Danish midfield, outwitting her opponents at every opportunity.

It didn’t take long for the deadlock to break as Catina Brunold smashed home a fierce shot from 25 yards away. The ball fell comfortably to her on the bounce and a smart half-volley sent it straight into the bottom right corner past Părăluță.

The best chance of the game for Fortuna Hjørring was met with an incredible save from the ever reliable German goalkeeper Schlüter, who ensured the momentum stayed with Pölten.

Carina Schluter of St Polten (Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Pölten see out the win despite a fortunate consolation for Fortuna

Mattner managed some clever footwork inside the opposition box to grab a well-earned goal from a tight angle for the Austrians at 71 minutes in. That was quickly followed up by yet another goal from Brunold just eight minutes later. A tight turn in the box made an opening for her shot into goal.

Pölten then sat back a little into the game, seemingly comfortable with a three-goal advantage to take to Denmark in the second leg fixture. However, Fortuna Hjørring capitalised on some defensive confusion to grab a late goal, adding a thread of hope to their qualification chances.

Fortuna Hjørring will claim the goal as Nikoline Nielsen’s, although it may later be registered as a Nagy own goal.

Following the 3-1 scoreline, Fortuna Hjørring will host SKN St. Pölten for the second leg tie on September 18th. The winner of the match will qualify directly to the UWCL proper.

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