Championship Group
LASK 5-0 SK Rapid
LASK as good as cemented themselves in third place with a one-sided win against Rapid on Sunday. After a scare when keeper Tobias Lawal almost let a back-pass sneak in, the Linz outfit had things all their own way. Adil Taoui’s shot was handled after half an hour, allowing Marin Ljubicic to open the scoring emphatically from the spot, before centre-back Andres Andrade carved through green shirts and passed forward for Florian Flecker to double the lead five minutes later with his third goal in three games. Just a couple of minutes after that it was 3-0, as Taoui’s effort on the rebound was lashed high into the net for his first Bundesliga goal, and after the break a deflected long-range effort put Sascha Horvath back on the score sheet for the first time in almost 18 months, plus a resurgent Taoui had his low cross converted by Ljubicic to round things off at 5-0. It marked a third win in four games for interim LASK coach Thomas Darasz, whereas Rapid have now managed just one win in 17 attempts against top-half opposition, as their preparations for Wednesday’s ÖFB Cup final went horribly wrong.
TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 3-2 SK Austria Klagenfurt
A Donis Avdijaj hat-trick ensured that Hartberg took another step on their path towards Europe, as they claimed their first Bundesliga win over Klagenfurt. Tobias Kainz created two of Avdijaj’s goals in the early stages, each time lofting a cross towards the far post, where the Kosovan forward was ready to volley powerfully home from both the left and right side, making it 2-0. That became three when he pinched the ball from Solomon Bonnah and rounded the keeper coolly, but Klagenfurt fought back after the interval when the in-form Andy Irving feinted past a defender and arrowed low across the goal to pull one back on 50 minutes. Another Avdijaj shot came back off the post for Hartberg, but with 20 minutes to go, Max Besuschkow picked out Jonas Arweiler in the area, and he duly slid in his first goal of the campaign to pull it back to 3-2. A late Sinan Karweina header then went wide, as Hartberg held on for a first home win in the group on what was Markus Schopp’s 150th Bundesliga game. Klagenfurt are at the foot of the table, albeit only behind SK Rapid via the rounding of halved points rule.
FC Red Bull Salzburg 2-2 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
A stirring comeback preserved Salzburg’s title hopes on Sunday evening, but Sturm’s precious point on the road allowed them to stay top of the table. In perhaps the most important game of the league season, Sturm needed less than a minute to break forward with William Böving, who picked out Alexander Prass for an almost immediate goal. The Grazers controlled proceedings initially, and Otar Kiteishvili was unfortunate to see his shot collide with the crossbar, but after 34 minutes Jusuf Gazibegovic did brilliantly on the right of the area, weaving left and right before again Prass was picked out in the middle and buried his side-footed shot on goal. Mika Biereth then raced clear one-on-one, but his indecision allowed home keeper Alex Schlager a moment to make a massive stop.
In the second half Salzburg suddenly found the urgency they needed, and peppered Vit Jaros’ goal with shots before Oscar Gloukh notched a ninth assist of the season, handing Dorgeles Nene the simplest of finishes to reduce the deficit. Karim Konate extended his lead in the scoring charts by equalising with his 16th goal of the season after 82 minutes, but although Salzburg thought they had won it with an offside goal, the game ended all-square, leaving Sturm in control with three rounds to go, but keeping Salzburg within striking distance, three points behind but with the superior head-to-head record.
Qualification Group
FK Austria Vienna 2-2 CASHPOINT SCR Altach
Austria Vienna twice held the lead on Friday, but had to be content with a point which kept them at the head of the group table. After a quiet opening phase, an incisive Dominik Fitz through ball got the Violets into the area, and after contact with the post and something of a scramble, Muharem Huskovic turned the ball over the line after 25 minutes. Soon after though, the guests won a controversial penalty which Mike-Steven Bähre tucked in for 1-1. The pattern repeated itself in the closing stages as Lucas Galvao’s long ball was cleverly looped in by the head of Fisnik Asllani to restore Austria’s lead after 85 minutes, but some fleet footwork from Sofian Bahloul allowed him to square the ball across goal for Lukas Fadinger to tap in a late Altach equaliser. The hosts still have a four point cushion at the top, Altach are eight points above Lustenau with just nine available.
RZ Pellets WAC 0-2 FC Blau-Weiß Linz
Promoted side Blau-Weiß ensured they’ll be back in the Bundesliga for another season, after winning away in Wolfsberg on Saturday. Augustine Boakye almost backheeled WAC into an early lead having received a misplaced pass, but it was the Linzers who capitalised fully on an error at the other end of the field. Simon Seidl picked off a short back-pass, then kept his composure to go past the keeper and pick out the back of the net from a tight angle after just six minutes. Both teams tested the opposing keepers before Blau-Weiß stretched their lead ten minutes into the second half, as the impressive Seidl dragged defenders away for Alexander Briedl to run through and finish off his first Bundesliga goal. Wolfsburg fell short of their best, and Gerald Scheiblehner’s Blau-Weiß Linz held on to win consecutive games for the first time this season, securing their top-flight status in the process!
WSG Tirol 0-0 SC Austria Lustenau
WSG did enough to stave off relegation on home turf, as a goalless draw suited the Tiroleans more than last-placed Lustenau. In a game low on chances, one big one was set up down the left for WSG, as Mahamadou Diarra flicked a fine cross over for Nik Prelec who could only turn the ball wide of the far post. Ben Bobzien and Pius Grabher both fired off-target for Lustenau, before Lukas Fridrikas was inches away from capitalising on home keeper Adam Stejskal’s failure to cleanly catch a spinning high ball in the six-yard-box. Stejskal soon made up for that nervy moment though, smartly getting down to deny Matheus Lins’ header on target, and as WSG held off Lustenau, the home side then so nearly won the game at the death, only for Diarra’s powerful close range header to draw a remarkable stop from Domenik Schierl. Ultimately the point seems like too little for Lustenau, who have drawn all five of their most recent away games but must now win each of the last three rounds to have any hope of catching Altach in 11th.
Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga
Fotos: GEPA pictures