Schiemer in awe of Salzburg feat

Defender Franz Schiemer admitted he still had to take in the magnitude of FC Salzburg's 2-1 victory in their opening UEFA Europa League Group G match against S.S. Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.

'Unbelievable'
Schiemer's 82nd-minute effort had cancelled out Pasquale Foggia's opener on the hour mark before Marc Janko struck to win all three points for the Austrian side. "The goal was just great. I don't normally do much with my left foot but this time happily it went into the net," said a grinning Schiemer, who like most of his team-mates, had left the dressing room half an hour after Lazio players had departed the scene. "It's unbelievable – to score at the Olimpico. I don't think I realise what it means right now but tomorrow maybe I will."

Late twist
Few could have predicted that finale midway through the second half. Such was the home side's dominance during a 20-minute period when they took the lead, it seemed Salzburg's players would be boarding a very quiet plane home. "Lazio are a great team; they were pressing very hard and had chances to increase their lead but we didn't give up - we kept fighting," said the 23-year-old Austria international. "We would have taken a point but we were always going for the second."

'Riding luck'
Salzburg's central defender Ibrahim Sekagya agreed the positive approach ultimately paid rich dividends. "We came here to play football," said the Ugandan captain. "Lazio are one of the biggest teams in Europe so we knew we had to keep it tight. We gave them some space at the start of the second half and we had to ride our luck a bit but we were able to come back. Winning here is one of the biggest moments in my career." Despite the historic win in the club's first official visit to the Eternal City, both players are not thinking too far beyond their next match in the competition, a home game against Spain's Villarreal CF.

Delayed celebration
"It's a good win but it's only the first match so we can't get carried away," said Sekagya. "We need to forget this now and think about the others. Sure, we were drinking some beer in the dressing room, but only a bit as we have a match again at the weekend. We have to concentrate on our next games so we are able to celebrate this during the winter break."