ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 32 Reviews

Qualification Round

LASK 3-1 FC Flyeralarm Admira

It was all to play for at the Raiffeisen Arena as LASK looked to seal a place in the European qualifying play-offs, and Admira aimed to avoid the drop. The hosts were the ones who got off to a strong start; a quickfire double from Husein Balic left Admira with a mountain to climb after only 19 minutes of football in Pasching. With just over half an hour gone, Keito Nakamura set up Thomas Goiginger, who added a third to the scoreboard with his seventh goal of the campaign, equalling his personal best tally from the 2017/18 season. Admira did get one back via Leonardo Lukacevic, but with others around them picking up points, it was ultimately a costly defeat, as they ended the season in the relegation place. LASK finished the group in second, and will play away from home in the European qualifying play-off.

SCR CASHPOINT Altach 2-1 WSG Tirol

Fans packed into the Cashpoint Arena in Altach to try to roar their team to safety in the final game of the Qualification Group, against a WSG side with European ambitions. Given the rounding down of half-points earlier in the year, and the fixture constellation on Friday, Altach were assured of Bundesliga survival if, and only if, they beat WSG. The perfect start got the crowd of over 8,000 people going, as the home team celebrated their earliest goal of the season when Bakary Nimaga’s effort took a fortuitous bounce off a defender before sneaking in after just two minutes. WSG hit the post as they fought back, but when Felix Strauss ran through two challenges to double the lead in the second half, it looked like the job was done from the perspective of the jubilant home fans. A nervous finale was ensured, though, as Nimaga was sent off for a second bookable offence after 67 minutes. WSG’s Giacomo Vrioni then secured his place as the top scorer in the group with goal number seven; his seventeenth strike of an excellent season reducing the deficit by half. WSG went all-out for the equaliser, but Altach hung on for a 2-1 win which meant that they retained their Bundesliga status. WSG finished as group winners nonetheless, and can now gear up for Monday’s play-off semi-final at home against LASK.

TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 1-1 SV Guntamatic Ried 

Hartberg hosted Ried on Friday with both clubs knowing that a win would secure their safety, and a defeat could condemn them to relegation if results elsewhere went against them. The home team allayed fears of the drop after just a few minutes, when Jürgen Heil won the ball and Donis Avdijaj was sent through on goal by Okan Aydin. Avdijaj kept calm to score his fifth of the campaign, with Aydin getting a third assist of the group stage. Hartberg looked by far the livelier team and could have been further ahead, but they paid for their profligacy when former player Seifedin Chabbi forced home a rebound for 1-1 in the second half. He scored five last season for Hartberg, but at Ried he improved upon that total with his seventh goal of the season. In the end, 1-1 was enough to keep the home and away fans happy, as neither team went down; they finished 5th and 4th respectively in the Qualification Group.

Championship Round

FK Austria Vienna 4-2 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz

Austria Vienna were the undisputed victors of the three-way battle for the European places on a dramatic final day of Championship Round action. Heading into the game a point ahead of city rivals Rapid and Wolfsberg, the Violets needed to win to be sure they would not be usurped by either of their competitors - and that’s exactly what happened. The home side opened the scoring through Eric Martel, only for the Bundesliga’s Player of the Season Jakob Jantscher to equalise with his 14th goal of the campaign minutes later. Manfred Fischer swiftly re-established the lead, with subs Dominik Fitz and Can Keles adding further goals, before a Sturm side with little more than pride to play for grabbed a late consolation via Manprit Sarkaria. A third-place finish and a berth in the Europa League qualifiers was the perfect send-off for the departing Alexander Grünwald and Markus Süttner, and the optimal way for coach Manfred Schmid to finish his first season in the Austria Vienna dugout.

FC Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 SK Austria Klagenfurt

Austria Klagenfurt came within a whisker of becoming the first and only team to inflict a home defeat on Red Bull Salzburg this season, only for the champions-elect - who were bidding goodbye to Zlatko Junuzovic and Borussia Dortmund-bound Karim Adeyemi - to keep their unbeaten run at the Red Bull Arena intact with a late goal. Despite a flurry of chances for the hosts, it was the visitors who took the lead when Markus Pink headed a free-kick back across the face of goal and Turgay Gemicibasi steered a looping header perfectly into the top corner. But Matthias Jaissle’s charges kept the pressure up and eventually levelled two minutes into stoppage time through Sekou Koita, who was making his comeback following a long spell out with a cruciate ligament injury. The draw saw the Red Bulls, who lifted the Bundesliga shield after the final whistle, equal their own record for most points in a league season since the format was changed in 2018/19 (52).. 

RZ Pellets Wolfsberger AC 2-1 SK Rapid Vienna

Wolfsberg scored two goals in the space of 90 seconds to come from behind against Rapid Vienna and leapfrog their European rivals into fourth place on the final day of the season. Playing his last-ever game for the Carinthians, the talismanic Michi Liendl produced a Man of the Match performance and had a hand in both goals. Marco Grüll fired the visitors into a first-half lead when he smashed home Emanuel Aiwu’s pass from a narrow angle to register his eighth goal of the campaign. But then Tai Baribo restored parity as the game approached the 75-minute mark, before substitute Adis Jasic slotted home Dario Vizinger’s ball to complete the comeback barely a minute and a half later. The turnaround had huge ramifications for the European spots: while the Wolves will now enter the Europa Conference League qualifying rounds, the Hütteldorfers must contest a two-legged play-off against WSG Tirol or LASK to ensure they are represented on the continental stage again next season.