Russia 2 - 4 Austria
It was a cold wet night in Moscow as Austria faced Russia in the Euro 2016 qualifiers. It was conditions that favored the Russians especially as they were playing at home as well.
But the Austrians showed they have no fear and are willing to fight for their country to be successful smashing Russia 4-2 leaving Austria only needing a point to guarantee a place in the Euro's in 2016. The question is can Austria rise above the pressure and secure that point against Sweden or will they have to wait until later in the year when they face Moldova and Montenegro?
The game started off badly for the Austrians with Russia taking the lead inside 4 minutes, with Alexandr Kokorin shaking off the defense and sliding it past Ozcan.
But as the game reached the 10 minute mark, the Austrians transformed and starting playing world class football, a type of football Thierry Henry himself would have been used to as a player. With this the Austrian players kicked on, scoring their first goal in the 28th minute, with Andreas Ivanschitz putting the Austrians back on level terms. Ivanschitz then popped up again in the 42nd minute to put Austria ahead which sent Russia's fans into a fit of rage.
When the second half came round, Austria were still playing absolutely solid football and the Russians could not compete with it. In the 63rd minute, Austria scored their 3rd goal of the game and who scored it? Well ivanschitz had decided he wanted his hattrick, and to prove all the doubters wrong that he should be part of the Austria set-up despite his age.
But the Austrians had decided they weren't done scoring yet, as in the 77th minute, Alessandro Schopf decided to score on his International debut which he described after the game as 'The best moment of my life'. Russia did manage to catch out Austria in the 79th minute though with a goal from Alexey Ionov, who managed to create a chance out of nothing.
But overall it was a very strong performance from the Austria side, who are starting to show the world of football that they will not be considered the underdog of football anymore and they will fight any team who stands in their way. The question is, can they go all the way?
