Austria round-up: Vastic strike sinks Tirol

Ivica Vastic's late strike earned SK Sturm Graz a narrow 1-0 win over runaway league leaders FC Tirol Innsbruck on Saturday.

Tirol stay top
Tirol still top the league by nine points from second-placed Sturm, but the win will have shown all the other title-contenders that Tirol - who have only conceded six league goals all season - are beatable.

Close call
Sturm tore into their visitors from the start and went close to taking the lead in the 20th minute when a Vastic free-kick struck the post. Jerzy Brzeczek and Günther Neukirchner also came close before the break as Tirol struggled against waves of attacks. Two minutes after the restart, Sturm came close once again as a György Korsós header was cleared off the line by Tirol midfield player Markus Anfang.

Late drama
Radoslav Gilewicz and Markus Scharrer threatened for Tirol and they almost stole the winner five minutes from time as a Jürgen Panis shot crashed against the crossbar. But with two minutes remaining it was the inspirational Vastic who stole the points with a thunderous shot which arrowed into the roof of the net for his eleventh goal of the season.