Around three minutes in, home defender Haitam Aleesami must have had his heart in his mouth when he slipped in possession, allowing William Boving to bear down on goal.
However, the visiting forward’s close-range effort was tipped behind by Nikita Haikin, and shortly afterwards, Glimt took the lead when Kasper Hogh deliciously dinked over Sturm goalkeeper Oliver Christensen for his sixth goal in four games.
The Austrians were soon 2-0 down as Patrick Berg’s inviting corner was headed in by Odin Bjortuft, although Christensen will be unhappy at the way the ball squirmed through his legs.
Sturm began to grow into the contest in the immediate aftermath of that goal, with Tomi Horvat hitting the crossbar, but shortly before the half-hour mark, Glimt got their third of the night.
Jens Petter Hauge, who played in Hogh for the opener, provided another assist, as his wonderful zipped pass allowed Ulrik Saltnes to slam home past Christensen at his near post.
Hauge and Fredrik Andre Bjorkan threatened to add to Sturm’s misery before half-time, although Glimt’s night was somewhat soured before the interval by injuries to Aleesami and Isak Dybvik Maatta, who both had to be substituted.
Sturm head coach Jurgen Saumel made no substitutions at the break and, perhaps unsurprisingly, his side continued to toil.
Ultimately, after seeing Hogh’s second goal of the evening mercifully ruled out for offside and Mathias Jorgensen blaze over for Glimt, they conceded another in the 54th minute. The influential Hauge found Bjorkan on the overlap and his cross was converted by Hajon Evjen via a deflection off Dimitri Lavalee.
The Eliteserien reigning champions and current leaders duly added extra gloss to the scoreline, with Hauge again heavily involved as his cutback ricocheted in off the unfortunate Boving.
Glimt could be one of the UCL’s most exciting teams to watch if, as expected, they make it to the league phase; five of their last seven games, including this one, have featured at least four goals.
Sturm, by contrast, are now staring at the prospect of an agonising exit from the competition and need to produce a comeback of epic proportions in next Tuesday’s second leg.
Flashcore Man of the Match: Jens Petter Hauge (Bodo/Glimt)