Austria lose 1:2 to Hungary in second test

Austria’s players picked up exactly where they had left off on Thursday evening at the start of the game, putting their opponents under pressure and creating early chances to make it 1:0. After almost five minutes, the tide turned as Hungary began winning the puck more frequently and repeatedly caused Austria problems. The result: Balint Horvath gave Hungary a 1:0 lead in the 6th minute.

Hungary increasingly took control of the game and came closer to making it 2:0 than Austria did to equalising. Compared to the previous day, their neighbours looked significantly more aggressive, won more battles overall and eventually made it 2:0 through Bence Szabo in the 12th minute.

First international goal for Armin Preiser

The longer the game went on, the better Head Coach Roger Bader’s team grew into the contest. The overdue goal to pull one back came in the 37th minute. Armin Preiser scored his first international goal in his fourth appearance for the national team.

Austria battled fiercely for an equaliser in the final period and created some good chances, but ultimately suffered a narrow 1:2 defeat, their 14th loss in their 52nd game against Hungary overall.

Head Coach Roger Bader: “You always play as well as the opposition allows you to. Yesterday, we did not allow much and won 2:0, which was perhaps too narrow. We started well in the opening minutes and could have taken a 1:0 or 2:0 lead. We then played too complicatedly, made too many plays instead of keeping our game direct. That led to turnovers, which gave the Hungarians confidence. They fought hard and deserved to win.”

Looking back positively overall on the team camp and the two test matches, Roger Bader said: “I am very satisfied with the whole week. If you want to establish yourself in the World Championship A Group, you need the November, December and February breaks. Not immediately, but over the years. We will make progress the more often we come together as a national team. The players who were here were able to take a great deal away and learn a lot. They implemented that very well in the first game, and today they were also shown that it can lead to defeat if you do not implement the instructions to 100 per cent. The entire coaching staff takes a lot of insights away from this week, which was a good one overall for me.”

DECEMBER BREAK

12–16 December 2022, Kapfenberg

Austria vs. Hungary 1:2 (0:2,1:0,0:0)
Fri, 16 December 2022, 18:30
Austria goalscorer: Armin Preiser (37th minute)

Thursday’s result and article:

Austria vs. Hungary 2:0 (1:0,0:0,1:0)
Thu, 15 December 2022, 18:30
Austria goalscorers: Lucas Thaler (5th minute), Tim Harnisch (46th minute/PP1)

36th win: Austria beat Hungary 2:0