ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 23 Reviews

Qualification Round

CASHPOINT SCR Altach 0-0 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg

Bottom-of-the-table Altach’s struggles in front of goal continued – they have managed only 10 goals in 23 matches this term, the worst record of any club at this stage of an Austrian Bundesliga season this century – as they were held to a goalless draw by Hartberg. The Styrians almost opened the scoring when Youba Diarra thundered the ball against the woodwork from range, and were then handed a decisive advantage when the Vorarlbergers had Manuel Thurnwald sent off on the half-hour mark. Sandi Krizman (Altach) and Dario Tadic (Hartberg) had the ball in the back of the opposition net before and after the break respectively, but both goals were ultimately ruled out for offside. It was the visitors who applied most of the pressure in the closing stages, though there was to be no breakthrough. It was Altach’s first Bundesliga point following a 10-game losing streak, but the Vorarlbergers remain four points adrift at the bottom, with Hartberg two places and five points above them. 

FC Flyeralarm Admira 2-0 SV Guntamatic Ried

One of the biggest surprises in the Austrian top tier this weekend came as Admira ended a six-match losing streak on home turf with a 2-0 victory against a Ried side that could count themselves unlucky to have narrowly missed out on the Championship Round. Roman Kerschbaum slotted home two penalties – the second of which crept fortuitously under the body of Ried shot-stopper Christoph Haas – either side of the break to finally give the home fans at the BSFZ-Arena something to cheer about. Neither handball was initially punished by referee Josef Spurny, who subsequently reviewed both incidents on the pitchside monitor before pointing to the penalty spot. The win gives Admira clear daylight between themselves and the relegation spot. They are now third in the Qualification Group, six points above the drop zone, while Ried are a place and a point above them.

LASK 6-0 WSG Tirol

LASK bounced back from their disappointing 4-1 defeat away to Slavia Prague in the Europa Conference League in midweek by recording their biggest Bundesliga victory since 1985. The Linzers ran out comfortable 6-0 winners against a lacklustre WSG side to move into top spot in the Qualification Group, where they will need to finish if they are to keep their hopes of more European football next season alive. Keito Nakamura opened the scoring with a nice feint and shot, before Florian Flecker added two more goals to put Andi Wieland’s side in a commanding 3-0 lead at the interval. Peter Michorl added his name to the scoresheet early in the second half, before Alexander Schmidt grabbed arguably the pick of the bunch with a lovely sidefooted volley to steer home Flecker’s cross. Nakamura then rounded off the scoring by tapping into an open goal with two minutes to go. Results elsewhere mean that the Tyroleans are now second from bottom, with a four-point cushion over relegation rivals Altach.

Championship Round

FK Austria Wien 2-1 RZ Pellets WAC

Austria Vienna moved above Wolfsberger AC and into second position – the highest placement they have occupied in this Bundesliga campaign – thanks to a narrow 2-1 victory over the Carinthians at the Generali Arena. Austria’s top scorer Marco Djuricin opened the scoring with his first Bundesliga goal since October after goalkeeper Alexander Kofler had inexplicably spilled the ball in his own box. Wolfsberg hit back through talisman Michi Liendl, whose strike took a fortuitous deflection and looped over Patrick Pentz in the Austria goal, but Can Keles hit back seconds after the break to give the capital club their first Championship Round win in almost three years. Luka Lochoshvili, who saved Georg Teigl’s life when these two sides met a fortnight ago, made a very short-lived return to the scene of his heroics: the defender broke his nose and suffered a concussion in a clash with Marvin Santos only 75 seconds into this match. 

SK Austria Klagenfurt 1-3 SK Rapid Wien

Rapid Vienna beat Austria Klagenfurt for the second weekend running – this time at the Wörthersee Stadion in Carinthia – to make it three wins on the bounce for the first time this Bundesliga season. Marco Grüll opened the scoring for Ferdinand Feldhofer’s charges by bringing down a lovely ball over the top from Dejan Petrovic and slotting home, before youngster Bernhard Zimmermann made it three goals from three appearances to double the Green & Whites’ lead. Turgay Gemicibasi halved the deficit from the spot after a penalty had been awarded for handball four minutes before the break, only for Rapid to re-establish the two-goal cushion shortly after the interval with a rare Yusuf Demir header. Klagenfurt goalscorer Gemicibasi was then sent off for a second bookable offence, becoming the ninth player the Violets have had dismissed this season – five more than any other club. Rapid now sit in fifth place, three points above Peter Pacult’s men in sixth.

FC Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz

Red Bull Salzburg put their Champions League demolition at the hands of Bayern Munich to the back of their minds courtesy of a narrow 1-0 victory over Sturm Graz, who have been their closest challengers for most of the season. Karim Adeyemi fired the ball into the net in the first half, but the goal was disallowed for offside – and it was not until 10 minutes into the second period that Matthias Jaissle’s men finally made the breakthrough. Oumar Solet headed Nicolas Seiwald’s corner-kick against the crossbar but his central defensive partner Maximilian Wöber was on hand to nod home the rebound from close range. Sturm were subsequently awarded two penalties for handballs committed by Seiwald and Andreas Ulmer, but the referee overturned both decisions after consulting his pitchside monitor and the Red Bulls held on to secure a narrow win that leaves them 11 points clear at the top. Christian Ilzer’s men are now down in third place, 12 points adrift of the runaway leaders.