Sturm Graz warm up for Rangers visit with dramatic win as Europa League rivals land 'tough' Ibrox verdict

The Austrian champions have had a successful start to the new campaign, winning five of their opening seven league games, although they were left disappointed in their hopes of securing qualification for the Champions League, falling to a 6-2 aggregate defeat to Bodo/Glimt in last month’s playoff clash.

While Rangers secured their first league win of the season with a 2-1 injury-time victory over Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, Sturm Graz were in search of a big win of their own following last week’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to FC Midtjylland in the opening game of the Europa League, hosting TSV Hartberg in the Austrian Bundesliga.

For much of the game, it looked like Sturm Graz were going to be held to a goalless draw at the 16,364-capacity stadium in Liebenau, though, with both Leon Grgic and Emanuel Aiwu seeing golden opportunities go begging. The home side fluffing their lines in front of goal repeatedly, the visiting Die Blau-Weiß proved to be dangerous on the counter.

However, just as the game ticked towards full-time, Hartberg's resistance was finally broken in dramatic fashion. A heart-breaking own goal from Rapid Wien loanee Dominik Vince in the fifth minute of injury-time resulted in the Sturm Graz fans erupting in relief as they secured a vital 1-0 victory in their quest for a third successive league title.

Jürgen Säumel’s side were handed a further boost in their quest to close the gap on Rapid Wien, with their title rivals falling to a surprise 3-1 home defeat to Austria Wien later in the day, meaning Die Schwoazn are now just two points behind their title rivals, with a game in hand to play.

In the aftermath of the victory, left-back Emir Karic was critical of his team’s performance, though, saying: "It was a tough game, no doubt. We knew Hartberg's defence would be solid, but these counterattacks of theirs were dangerous. We're not where we want to be in the game, but I think we deserve it, if only because of our attitude. We need to look in the mirror and figure it out. We're practically inviting teams to score on us. Don't even get me started on our finishing - we need to sharpen our game in front of goal."

With the team’s focus now turning to the visit of Rangers on Thursday, the 28-year-old warned his team they must not underestimate Martin’s Gers side, despite their laboured start to the campaign. "We want to win, for sure," Karic insisted. "Rangers are one of the best teams in Europe, even if they are going through a bit of a tough time. But we have a real chance and you can be sure we will take it."

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