That was it: Matthias Bacher and his Naturns team suffered a painful defeat. © Sarah Mitterer

Naturns says goodbye to the title race

This defeat was probably too much of a good thing. SSV Naturns suffered a bitter setback in its battle for the regional league championship title on Sunday. But Ahrntal also didn't escape unscathed.

April 27, 2025

From: cst

Everything looked set for a clear home victory for SSV Ahrntal against SV Salurn. Until the 87th minute, the home team led by two goals in St. Johann. But then veteran Fabio Zadra struck and turned the game up a notch. In the hectic final phase, Salurn finally equalized. Mirko Sartori rose highest after a Celia cross and fired the ball into the net to make it 4-4.

This meant that Ahrntal was level with Val Gardena (defeat on Friday against Gitschberg Jochtal) in the table, but with a win they would have been alone in the top spot.

Naturns thrashing in the lowlands – Riffian Kuens relegated

Compared to their rivals from Naturns, however, the Ahrntal Valley's worries are considerably smaller. The Lower Vinschgau team suffered a clear 1-4 defeat against the Southern Wine Route and are now five points behind the top two. With 12 points still up for grabs, that's probably too much. Thierno Diagne, in particular, was never able to contain Naturns. With a hat-trick, the Southern Wine Route striker was the man of the match. Diagne has already scored 20 times this season – more than any other regional league striker.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, Riffian Kuens is the first team to be relegated. The Burggräfler team lost 1-3 in Latsch on Sunday and mathematically cannot make up the deficit in the remaining games. Things are also looking bleak for Kiens, which lost 1-3 to Latzfons Verdings in the bottom-of-the-table clash. The Pustertal team, who shook up the regional league last year, is only a matter of time before it returns to the 1st Amateur League.

State league: 26th matchday

Ahrntal – Salurn 4:4
0:1 Christian Baldo (1st), 1:1 Pareiner (39th), 2:1 Torggler (54th), 2:2 (61st), 3:2 Pareiner (71st), 4:2 Kofler (75th), 4:3 Zadra (87th), 4:4 Sartori (90th)

Wine Route South – Naturns 4-1
1:0 Diagne (31st/penalty), 2:0 Sanogo (47th/penalty), 3:0 Diagne (54th), 3:1 Bounou (70th), 4:1 Diagne (82nd)

Ahead Leifers – Terlan 3-3
0:1 Gostner (5th), 1:1 Ferraris (18th), 1:2 Gostner (42nd), 1:3 Albenberger (50th), 2:3 Larentis (57th), 3:3 Stefan Clementi (76th)

Laces – Riffian Kuens 3-1
1:0 Fabian Lechner (9th), 1:1 Capobianco (22nd/penalty), 2:1 Kiem (72nd), 3:1 Shehi (86th)

Latzfons Verdings – Kiens 3:1
1:0 Kerschbaumer (41st), 2:0 Oberrauch (45th), 2:1 Ritsch (51st), 3:1 Senn (86th)