ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 13 Reviews

SK Austria Klagenfurt 3-3 FC Flyeralarm Admira

Admira Wacker came from behind three times to salvage a 3-3 draw and a precious point away to promoted side Austria Klagenfurt. The match got off to a frenetic start with Turgay Gemicibasi firing the hosts ahead from the spot on nine minutes and Marco Hausjell levelling at the other end 120 seconds later, only for Markus Pink’s sixth league goal of the season to have the Carinthians back in front around the quarter-hour mark. Roman Kerschbaum’s spot-kick was then cancelled out by Patrick Greil, before another Kerschbaum penalty sealed a late draw for the Lower Austrians. The stalemate saw Austria Klagenfurt – who nonetheless extended their unbeaten home start to the Bundesliga season to six games (W2 D4) – drop from fifth to seventh in the table, but they remain two places and a point above ninth-placed Admira.

Cashpoint SCR Altach 0-2 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg

Perennial overachievers Hartberg shot up to fourth place courtesy of a 2-0 victory at Altach – their first win in Vorarlberg since gaining promotion to the top tier. Two key VAR interventions in the opening half-hour arguably changed the course of this game: the decision to disallow Noel Niemann’s opener for offside was reversed following a review, before Nosa Iyobosa Edokpolor’s yellow card was upgraded to red. Provider Jürgen Heil then turned goalscorer as the hour mark approached as the Styrians sealed all three points and extended their away unbeaten streak to five games – the first time they have ever put such a run together on the road in the Austrian top flight. Such is the congestion in mid-table at present that only four points now separate fourth-placed Hartberg (17 points) and 11^th-placed Altach (13).

SV Guntamatic Ried 2-2 FC Red Bull Salzburg

Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the round came as Ried rescued a point against runaway league leaders Red Bull Salzburg through substitute Leo Mikic’s stoppage-time equaliser, prompting scenes of elation at the Josko Arena. The Upper Austrians led for much of the match following Luca Meisl’s early header and looked to be on course for a famous victory when Samuel Sahin-Radlinger saved Rasmus Kristensen’s penalty with 20 minutes to go. Two quickfire goals from Junior Adamu and Noah Okafor in the 83^rd and 85^th minutes looked to have crushed the hosts’ resistance, only for Mikic to fire home an emphatic late finish that lifted Ried to eighth and extended their unbeaten home streak in the league to an impressive 11 games (W6 D5). Despite dropping points for only the second time all season, results elsewhere meant the Red Bulls increased their lead at the summit to 12 points.

WSG Swarowski Tirol 1-1 FK Austria Vienna

Draw specialists WSG Tirol shared the spoils for the seventh time in 13 games following a 1-1 stalemate with Austria Vienna on home turf. Juventus loanee Giacomo Vrioni finally found a way through the second-best defence in the league (15 goals conceded prior to kick-off) just shy of the hour mark, but the Violets hit back when substitute Muharem Huskovic headed home captain Markus Suttner’s pinpoint delivery from the left flank with 13 minutes to go. That goal kept up the capital club’s record of scoring in all eight of their league meetings with the Tyroleans, although being held to a draw and dropping two points meant they fell from fourth to sixth place in the table and were overtaken by their cross-city rivals Rapid Vienna. WSG Tirol, meanwhile, moved up into 10th place.

SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 0-3 RZ Pellets WAC

Sturm Graz slipped to their fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions – and their biggest Bundesliga home loss of the season – despite dominating almost every statistical category in this second versus third clash with Wolfsberger AC. The Grazers had more shots (19-2), possession (59%-41%), tackles won (53%-47%), passes completed (72%-62%) and corners (10-1) but lost 3-0 thanks to a Michi Liendl wonder strike, an Amadou Dante own goal and a last-gasp effort from Cheikhou Dieng. The freak result means that Sturm, who only a few weeks ago were eight points clear of third place, have now seen that cushion whittled down to two points by a WAC side that has impressively rebounded from a poor start to the campaign to win five games in a row in all competitions.

SK Rapid Vienna 3-2 LASK

Rapid Vienna versus LASK would be a clash between two title challengers in most seasons, but a poor start to the current campaign meant the two sides went into this meeting knowing that whichever lost would find themselves gruesomely consigned to the foot of the table on Halloween. A decimated LASK took the lead through Thomas Goiginger’s opener in the 17^th minute, only for an Ercan Kara double either side of the break to give the Green & Whites the lead heading into the final 10 minutes. LASK then responded to Marco Grüll’s spectacular free-kick in the 86^th minute with a goal from Felix Luckeneder three minutes later to set up a tense finish, but they could not find an equaliser and so remain bottom for the second week in a row. Didi Kühbauer’s charges, meanwhile, have moved up from 10^th place to fifth and could close the gap to third to just two points with a win against Wolfsberg next weekend.