Salzburg pip St Pölten to Austrian Cup
Sunday, May 18, 2014
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"This is the icing on the cake," commented outgoing FC Salzburg coach Roger Schmidt after his side completed a domestic double by beating SKN St Pölten 4-2 in the Austrian Cup final.
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FC Salzburg have completed a domestic double by defeating second-tier SKN St Pölten 4-2 in the Austrian Cup final.
Already crowned league champions, Salzburg went ahead in Klagenfurt on 35 minutes when Stefan Ilsanker's pacy run allowed him to tee up Florian Klein, who struck from a tight angle. Although underdogs St Pölten quickly levelled, with Alejandro Velasco Fariñas heading in from a corner, Kevin Kampl left them reeling again just moments later, finding the net after a clearance from goalkeeper Patrick Kostner had rebounded off Klein.
Top scorer in the UEFA Europa League this term, Jonatan Soriano increased Salzburg's lead shortly after the hour mark following good work from Valon Berisha, and he added a second in swift succession. Gary Noel reduced the deficit for St Pölten, but Salzburg held firm to clinch their second Austrian Cup success – allowing Roger Schmidt a superb send-off before he assumes the reins at Bayer 04 Leverkusen next season.
"We've had a great season and this is the icing on the cake," said Schmidt. "You could see that it wasn't a given for us today. St Pölten were worthy opponents. I'm very proud of what we've achieved. No matter where we play, we're always the favourites. Now we'll have some fitting celebrations. I think the team are really going to party hard. They deserve to as well."
