ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 13 Review

FC Red Bull Salzburg 0-0 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz

Champions Red Bull Salzburg failed to find the back of the net for the first time in 24 matches as they played out a 0-0 draw with closest challengers Sturm Graz – the first goalless stalemate between the two teams in over three and a half years. Serbian centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic was constantly in the thick of the action and almost put the Red Bulls ahead following a mazy solo run from the halfway line, but ultimately fired narrowly wide. Sturm’s best chance came after the interval when William Bøving teed up Tomi Horvat, whose shot initially slipped underneath Philipp Köhn but was gratefully pounced upon by the Salzburg shot-stopper. In a controversial finale, Pavlovic made an incredible last-ditch intervention to deny Bøving, who had rounded Köhn, but was then shown a second booking for simulation in the box. The result means Salzburg stay top on 30 points, two ahead of second-placed Sturm.

TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 1-5 WSG Tirol

WSG Tirol followed up their 4-1 away victory against LASK with another big win on the road against Hartberg, though it was the hosts who took the lead in the eighth minute when Lukas Fadinger rounded off a lovely team move with a first-time shot to score his first Bundesliga goal. The Tyroleans responded by going close several times, only to be denied by a combination of the woodwork and Hartberg goalie Rene Swete, but two goals in the space of three minutes from Nik Prelec and Lukas Sulzbacher turned the game around before the break. Prelec added another just shy of the hour mark, before Thomas Silberberger’s charges rounded off a comfortable and triumphant afternoon with two late goals from substitutes Zan Rogelj and Tim Prica, whose cross slipped through the wet hands of the hapless Swete between the sticks for Hartberg. WSG Tirol’s biggest-ever Bundesliga away win saw them rise up to fifth place, while the Styrians remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

SK Rapid Wien 0-1 SK Austria Klagenfurt

Rapid Vienna’s troubles went from bad to worse against Austria Klagenfurt as they lost a fourth consecutive Bundesliga home game for the first this century. The Carinthians scored the only goal of the game with only six minutes on the clock, Markus Pink meeting Sinan Karweina’s cross with a bullet header into the far corner of the net. It was the seventh headed goal Peter Pacult’s side have scored this season – the most of any club in the division. Patrick Greil went close to equalising against his former club before the break, but it was not until the second period that the Green & Whites really got into their flow. Leopold Querfeld was inches away from reaching a ball across the face of goal from Ferdy Druijf, who then squandered a great headed opportunity following Jonas Auer’s cross. Rapid are now down in ninth spot with 14 points but have a game in hand against bottom club Hartberg on Wednesday and will move up to fifth – only one place and three points behind Austria Klagenfurt – if they win.

SC Austria Lustenau 0-0 SV Guntamatic Ried

This meeting between fellow strugglers Lustenau and Ried surprisingly ended in a goalless draw that leaves both clubs hovering perilously above the drop zone. But things are looking up for Ried, who are now unbeaten in four matches across league and cup. The Vikings were on the back foot initially, however, and looked to have fallen behind when Bryan Teixera headed home at the back post – although the goal was correctly ruled out for a push on David Unger by Anthony Schmidt. Ried’s Seifedin Chabbi fired over the bar with an acrobatic bicycle kick and then failed to beat Domenik Schierl after a nice through-ball from Kingsley Michael. The final 10 minutes were then largely dominated by penalty box controversies, but appeals from both sides were correctly waved away by referee Florian Jäger on his Bundesliga debut and the game ended goalless – the first time Lustenau have drawn 0-0 at home in the top flight since 1999.

RZ Pellets WAC 2-3 CASHPOINT SCR Altach

Noah Bischof was on target twice as Altach continued their recent revival with a second consecutive 3-2 away victory in the Bundesliga to beat an inconsistent Wolfsberg side. But the Wolves took the lead in the fourth minute when Mario Leitgeb, whose free-kick had initially hit the wall, rifled the rebound into the top corner to score one of the goals of the season. 19-year-old Bischof then levelled with a great strike after cutting inside Raphael Schifferl, before hammering the ball into the roof of the net just shy of the half-hour mark to put the Vorarlbergers ahead – in a manner that will have surely met with approval from boss Miroslav Klose, the World Cup’s all-time top goalscorer. Tai Baribo levelled 10 minutes later after rounding Tino Casali but Altach had the last laugh when Alexis Tibidi nutmegged Hendrik Bonmann with 20 minutes to go. The result closed the gap between the teams, with eighth-placed Altach now level on points with seventh-placed Wolfsberg.

LASK 2-2 FK Austria Wien

Having made a blistering start to the campaign, LASK’s lull continued as they dropped further points in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Austria Vienna in Pasching. With the score still goalless heading into the second half, Robert Zulj won and slotted home a contentious penalty to put the Linzers ahead in the 55^th minute. But in the 61^st and 83^rd minutes respectively, Manuel Polster and Marvin Martins scored their first-ever Bundesliga goals to turn the match on its head and put the capital club firmly on the front foot heading into the closing stages. But there was to be one final twist in this clash between two teams brimming with players facing their former club: ex-Violet Sascha Horvath popped up with an excellent strike from 18 metres out three minutes from time, as LASK rescued a point and maintained the gap to frontrunners Salzburg and Sturm, who had dropped points against each other the day before.