Austria round-up: Duo stay in UEFA Champions League hunt

SK Sturm Graz and city rivals Grazer AK both recorded victories this evening as they continued their duel for Austria's second UEFA Champions League spot in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Seven-goal thriller
Sturm, the current occupants of second position in the table - which provides a place in the second qualifying round of next season's UEFA Champions League - maintained their two-point lead over Grazer with an astonishing 4-3 win at champions FC Tirol Innsbruck.

Early goal
Sturm took the lead in only the second minute of their clash, Roman Mählich firing into9 the net superbly from just inside the box. Radoslav Gilewicz levelled with a penalty four minutes later after Sturm's Francisco Rojas had fouled Patrik Jezek.

Tirol ahead
Jezek then put the home side ahead, only to see his effort wiped out by Alain Masudi's close-range shot. Gilewicz then completed the scoring for the first half by putting Tirol 3-2 up with a header four minutes before the break.

Vastic the hero
Mählich made it 3-3 in the 64th minute before Ivica Vastic capped a superb win for Sturm with a great header into the far corner after a cross from Gerald Strafner.

Comfortable win
While Sturm had to scrap for their win, Grazer were comfortable 3-0 winners over FC Kärnten, courtesy of goals from Mario Bazina, Roland Kollmann and René Aufhauser.

Rapid recovery
In the three other games tonight, SK Rapid Wien bounced back from their humiliating 6-1 defeat by SV Austria Salzburg on Sunday with a 3-2 win over bottom of the table VfB Admira Wacker Mödling. FK Austria Wien scored an impressive 4-1 win against Schwarz-Weiss Bregenz and SV Ried were defeated 1-0 at home by Salzburg.