26. Juli 2022
ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 1 Review
FC Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 FK Austria Wien
Perennial champions Red Bull Salzburg kicked off their pursuit of a 10th consecutive Austrian Bundesliga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Austria Vienna in the season curtain raiser. Benjamin Sesko’s 37th-minute opening goal was followed up by a strike from Fernando in the 56th minute and a Noah Okafor tap-in on the hour mark, as Matthias Jaissle’s young guns extended their unbeaten run against the Violets to 13 matches (W12 D1). The goal from Fernando, a summer signing from Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk, was the pick of the bunch and in the process the forward became the first Red Bull Salzburg player to score on his Bundesliga debut since Fredrik Gulbrandsen in 2016. The win immediately lifted the reigning champions into top spot, six points ahead of Austria Vienna, who were deducted three points for financial and legal reasons before the season began.
LASK 3-1 SK Austria Klagenfurt
After a disappointing campaign in which they missed out on European football for the first time since their return to the Bundesliga, LASK came racing out of the blocks with a 3-1 win at home to Austria Klagenfurt, the surprise package from last season. The Linzers, who have never lost to the Carinthians in a competitive match (W10 D3), opened the scoring through Keito Nakamura’s seventh Bundesliga goal – all of which have been scored on home turf. Thomas Goiginger doubled the lead with a low drilled effort on the half-hour mark, before debutant Marin Ljubicic made sure of the three points a matter of minutes after the restart. Peter Pacult’s men came back into the game after Peter Michorl’s straight red card for a cynical foul, and reduced the deficit through forward Markus Pink, but there were no further goals and LASK held on to win their opening game for the fourth consecutive season.
RZ Pellets WAC 1-1 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
A close contest between two of Austria’s European participants ended in a 1-1 draw at the Lavanttal-Arena. The first period was brimming with action: Wolfsberg’s Tai Baribo had his 21st-minute penalty kept out by Sturm shot-stopper Jrg Siebenhandl, who could do little to stop Konstantin Kerschbaumer putting the Wolves ahead with a lovely strike from outside the penalty area five minutes later. But the men from Graz, who finished last term as vice-champions, came back into the game on the stroke of half-time when Rasmus Højlund broke through down the left of the box and drilled a low ball across the face of goal for Manprit Sarkaria to fire into the roof of the net at the back stick. Sturm defender David Affengruber was then sent off for a second bookable-offence with a little under 20 minutes to go, but Robin Dutt’s men could not capitalise and the match finished all square.
SC Austria Lustenau 2-1 WSG Tirol
Only four promoted clubs across Europe this summer had waited longer to make their return to a national top division than Austria Klagenfurt, who marked their Bundesliga comeback after a 22-year absence with a home victory against WSG Tirol. The 3,800 supporters in attendance saw the Vorarlbergers open the scoring in the 11th minute through a nice piece of combination play down the left involving Stefano Surdanovic, Bryan Teixera and goalscorer Anthony Schmid. In the process, Schmid became only the third Lustenau player to find the net on his ADMIRAL Bundesliga debut – after Samuel Koejoe and Tamas Tiefenbach, who both scored in the club’s first-ever BL game in 1997. Full-back Anderson doubled the advantage just shy of the hour mark and although the Tyroleans gave themselves a late lifeline through Tim Prica’s 87th minute goal, Markus Mader’s charges held firm and came away with the three points.
TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 2-1 CASHPOINT SCR Altach
The World Cup’s all-time top-scorer with 16 goals, Germany legend Miroslav Klose, could not stop his Altach side from slipping to an away defeat in Hartberg on his dugout debut in the Austrian Bundesliga. The Styrians, who have lost only one of their last 11 clashes with the Vorarlberg side and won their last meeting 4-0 in April, dominated the opening stages and drew several good saves from visiting goalkeeper Tino Casali. The impressive Donis Avdijaj eventually made the breakthrough in first-half stoppage time with a nicely taken shot on the turn, then added another goal to put Hartberg firmly in the driving seat with less than a quarter of an hour remaining. Atdhe Nuhiu pulled a goal back for Altach in the closing stages – the first time they have scored against Hartberg in four matches – but it was ultimately to no avail as home side defended their lead and kicked off their campaign on a winning note.
SK Rapid Wien 1-0 SV Guntamatic Ried
Rapid Vienna might have extended their Bundesliga record 43-game (W35 D8) home unbeaten run against Ried, but they can consider themselves fortunate to have done so. The Upper Austrians were on the front foot at the outset and came close to going in front when Stefan Nutz’s in-swinging free-kick crept through a crowd of bodies and struck the inside of the upright. The Vikings struck the woodwork again later in the game through substitute Denizcan Cosgun, only for the Green & Whites to go straight down the other end and break the deadlock with a powerful drive from Bernhard Zimmermann. The youngster almost scored a second shortly afterwards following a one-two in the box with Thorsten Schick. Samuel Sahin-Radlinger made a wonderful reflex save – but could not prevent his side from slipping to their 14th consecutive league loss at the Allianz Stadion.