Austria hit three past the Faroes

Austria posted a comfortable victory against the Faroe Islands to finish third in FIFA World Cup qualifying Group C and leave their opponents bottom of the pile.

With neither side able to qualify, there was pride at stake in Torshavn with Austria seeking to confirm third place behind Germany and Sweden. Indeed, the visitors made much of the running with Andreas Ivanschitz opening the scoring in the 17th minute before Sebastian Prödl doubled the lead in the second half. The result was then put beyond doubt by David Alaba's coolly taken penalty.

Austria attacked from the start with Alaba drawing an early save from Gunnar Nielsen with a low drive. They did not have to wait long for the breakthrough, with Ivanschitz racing in behind the home defence and scoring at the second time of asking. The Faroe Islands almost equalised from a corner five minutes later but an Austrian defender was on hand to clear off the line. Pól Jóhannus Justinussen's shot was then expertly repelled by Heinz Lindner as Austria clung onto their narrow advantage.

However, the game changed after the interval and, following two near misses, Austria tightened their grip through Prödl's volley. Alaba's spot kick merely confirmed the superiority of Marcel Koller's troops – and third position in Group C.