ST. PÖLTEN, Austria (Interstat) — St. Polten built a two-goal lead inside the first 23 minutes and held on to beat Hertha Wels (Aut) 2-1 on Friday at NV ARENA. The home side opened the scoring in the 7th minute when Mane E. H. finished, then doubled the advantage in the 23rd minute through Marek Kolodziejczyk. Hertha Wels (Aut) pulled one back in the 71st minute when Yasin Mankan scored, but St. Polten kept the visitors from finding an equalizer over the closing stretch. The match featured an early yellow card, a flurry of substitutions around halftime and a late push from the visitors that did not produce a second goal.

St. Polten set the tone early with the first goal after a quick spell of pressure. Mane E. H. played the full 90 minutes and recorded the opening goal. Kolodziejczyk also went the full match and scored St. Polten’s second, then picked up a yellow card in the 62nd minute. Szerencsi N. was booked in the third minute for St. Polten, and Stendera M. received a yellow card in the 88th minute as the home side managed the final stages. St. Polten finished with three yellow cards, while Hertha Wels (Aut) did not receive a booking in the match.

Hertha Wels (Aut) changed shape and personnel before halftime, making a substitution in the 43rd minute and three more at the start of the second half. Those moves helped the visitors find a foothold, and Mankan scored in the 71st minute after Christopher Wernitznig supplied the assist. Wernitznig played all 90 minutes and finished with the assist. Mankan’s goal cut the deficit to one and gave Hertha Wels (Aut) a route back into the match, but St. Polten responded with substitutions of its own to close out the game. Hertha Wels (Aut) made its final change in the 80th minute, using a substitution involving Haudum S. as it sought a late equalizer.

St. Polten’s Jannik Wanner played 62 minutes and provided an assist, while David Gabriel Jesus played 76 minutes and also recorded an assist. St. Polten made changes in the 61st, 62nd, 76th and 80th minutes, including substitutions involving Gabbichler L., Rupp P. and Borkovic A. as it looked to protect the lead. The home side also made substitutions involving Wanner and Gabriel Jesus during that stretch. Hertha Wels (Aut) used substitutions at the 43rd, 46th and 80th minutes, with substitutions involving Malinowski S., Feyrer S., Brugger M., Barlov D. and Haudum S.

The result moved St. Polten to 4 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws in this competition, the same record it holds across all competitions. Hertha Wels (Aut) fell to 1 win and 2 losses in the competition and is now 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw across all competitions. St. Polten’s recent form in the competition included a scoreless draw with Wels and a draw at ASC Rapid Kapfenberg before the home win. Earlier in the season, St. Polten also had a 2-1 home win over Bregenz and a 3-1 win at Liefering. Hertha Wels (Aut) had entered after a 1-0 home win over Wolfsberger AC (Aut) and a 6-2 home loss to ASK Voitsberg. The visitors had also beaten Bregenz 1-0 at home and drawn 3-3 with A. Salzburg (Aut).

St. Polten’s next match in the competition is scheduled at FC Flyeralarm Admira. The club then has matches against Voitsberg, at Amstetten, against Sturm II and at Wels in the following weeks. Hertha Wels (Aut) will look to rebound in its next competition fixture after the road loss.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Polten 2, Hertha Wels (Aut) 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected St. Polten with an 89.5 percent probability to win. St. Polten had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.75. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 2.5.