ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 17 Review

SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 1-0 SK Rapid Vienna

On a chilly Friday evening in Graz, the Bundesliga began again after a mammoth 88 day break. It was a heavyweight clash between two traditional giants of the Austrian game to kick things off, and Sturm came through with a late winner to take all three points. The home side had gone seven unbeaten against Rapid, and extended that to a club record eight games, but after having had a Tomi Horvat strike ruled out by VAR it was David Affengruber who popped up with a crucial glancing header in stoppage time. Manprit Sarkaria teed him up with a free kick from the right, getting his third assist of the season (all from set-plays) as Affengruber became Sturm’s 18th scorer of the campaign, taking them just one behind Salzburg’s all time record. Conceding in the 91st minute was tough on Rapid, who matched Sturm with 10 shots apiece. Marco Grüll set up four of those for his teammates, more than anyone else in the game, but nonetheless Rapid would leave pointless and slip to fifth, while Sturm stay second.

FC Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 SC Austria Lustenau

Salzburg recovered quickly from their ÖFB Cup exit by putting four past Lustenau, in a game some saw as a warm-up for the return of European football this week. The Lustenau defence frustrated Matthias Jaissle’s men for the first 45 minutes, but after the break, an emphatic brace from Fernando set the home side on their way. After an injury lay-off, the Brazilian striker made it six goals from nine games with his double, and he’s now scored three times against Lustenau. Nicolas Seiwald’s deflected shot went in for a first career Bundesliga goal in his 63rd appearance, and Nicolas Capaldo completed the rout by slotting home following a defensive error in injury time. If that was a dress rehearsal for Salzburg’s game against AS Roma, then it was a successful one, and with 21 shots to two it was a fully deserved win. Salzburg stay six points clear, and Lustenau remain in eighth.

RZ Pellets Wolfsberger AC 1-2 WSG Tirol

WSG won away in Wolfsberg to make it five wins and a draw from their last six Bundesliga fixtures. After selling top scorer Nik Prelec late in the winter transfer window without a direct replacement, Thomas Silberberger and his team will have been delighted to see Tim Prica open the scoring just after the hour mark; his sixth goal of the season squirmed under the WAC keeper to take him level with Prelec. Sandi Ogrinec provided the assist, his fifth of the campaign, as the Tyroleans took the lead. They doubled it with 20 minutes to play when Thomas Sabitzer turned in the box and fired home; the 22 year old Austrian has developed a reputation as a fox-in-the-box, with all 12 of his Bundesliga goals having come from inside the area. Wolfsberg pulled a goal back late on via a long goal kick towards the in-form Tai Baribo. He tucked away an eighth goal of the campaign, but it couldn’t prevent WAC from falling to a sixth defeat in seven league games. WSG climb to fourth, six points above the divide, whilst the Wolves are ninth, just four points from the foot of the table.

SV Guntamatic Ried 0-1 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg

Markus Schopp enjoyed a winning return to the Hartberg dugout, as his side edged past Ried to switch places at the bottom of the Bundesliga. The hosts had the better of the first half, but Stafan Nutz could not convert his chances, and although Leo Mikic had the most shots of anyone in the game (4) he couldn’t find the net either. Hartberg improved as the game went on, and when Ruben Providence’s angled effort from the left was parried back across the box, Dominik Frieser reacted quickest to nod into the empty net for his first goal since returning to Austria last summer, putting the guests ahead with a little over ten minutes to play. The former LASK man had fewer touches than any other outfield player over the 90 minutes, but he made that one count. Hartberg’s new starting goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger denied Roko Jurisic late in the game, as he kept his third clean sheet in just his fifth game of the season to earn Hartberg three precious points. After the joy of reaching the ÖFB Cup Semi-Finals last week, SV Ried now find themselves propping up the table.

CASHPOINT SCR Altach 0-1 LASK

A new-look Altach side turned out to face LASK on Sunday, with 20-year-old Andreas Jungdal in goal, 21-year-old Amir Abdijanovic on the right, and former LASK favourite Husein Balic on the left. Miroslav Klose’s team came out fighting, and they dribbled forward at any opportunity, only to find themselves behind in the tenth minute when Marin Ljubicic picked out Keito Nakamura in the area. The Japanese forward needed two attempts to beat Jungdal, but he hit the back of the net for the ninth time this season, taking him joint top of the scorer points chart with 12 goal contributions (alongside Markus Pink and Bryan Teixeira). LASK lost Branko Jovicic to a second yellow card just after the break, and that put them on the back foot for the rest of the game, but despite a busy day for Abdijanovic, Altach drew a blank, and therefore fell to a narrow defeat. LASK extended their run against Altach to 12 games unbeaten in Vorarlberg (8 wins, 4 draws). The teams remain in tenth and third places respectively.

FK Austria Vienna 3-1 SK Austria Klagenfurt

The Sunday evening fixture saw a battle of the Austrias take place at the Generali Arena, as Austria Vienna came out on top at home to replace Klagenfurt in the top six. Michael Wimmer’s start to life as FAK coach didn’t go as planned, key playmaker Dominik Fitz had to leave the field with a knock after just 22 minutes, but his replacement Haris Tabakovic would take up the mantle on the day. After scoring just twice in 13 Bundesliga games in 2022, the centre forward flicked in a cultured finish from close range to give the Violets a first half lead. He then controlled a long pass and chipped a confident finish into the net in the second half to make it 2-0, staking a claim to be a starting forward in the process. Thorsten Mahrer cut the deficit in half for Klagenfurt with his third goal of the season, all of which have come after corner kicks, but Tabakovic had the final say, as his low ball across the box was converted emphatically by Can Keles in stoppage time to seal the win. The Viennese team leapfrog their guests, moving up into sixth place, two points ahead of Klagenfurt in seventh.