SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 1-1 FC Flyeralarm Admira
Sturm Graz’s poor run of Bundesliga form continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Admira. Jakob Jantscher’s eighth goal (and 15th goal involvement) of the season looked to have put the Styrians on the path to victory, only for a string of impressive saves from Andreas Leitner and a nicely taken equaliser by Wilhelm Vorsager to bring the Lower Austrians back on level terms before the break. The midfielder’s leveller ended a run of almost 300 minutes without a goal for Andreas Herzog’s side. Sturm Graz, who have only one win in their last six games, now sit in third place with a three-point cushion over Austria Klagenfurt, whom they face in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Meanwhile Admira, who have picked up consecutive away draws against Austria Vienna, Austria Klagenfurt, Red Bull Salzburg and now Sturm Graz, sit second from bottom, having not won a game since beating Altach in early October.
WSG Tirol 0-1 SK Austria Klagenfurt
A last-second own goal from Raffael Behounek gifted Austria Klagenfurt a relatively fortuitous victory at the Tivoli Stadion. The Tyroleans outperformed the visitors in terms of shots (17-10), possession (58%), challenges won (51%) and passes completed (79%-69%) but could not quite hold on for a point and ultimately suffered their first home league defeat since losing to champions Salzburg in early September. The Carinthians, meanwhile, are now on a five-game unbeaten streak in the top flight (W3 D2) and have suffered the fewest defeats of any promoted side at this stage of a season since Altach in the 2014/15 campaign (both four). Austria Klagenfurt now occupy fourth place, with a four-point lead over seventh-placed Ried with five rounds of fixtures to go before the league splits in half. WSG Tirol are ninth but only two points adrift of a coveted spot in the Championship Round.
FC Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg
Reigning champions Red Bull Salzburg claimed their first Bundesliga victory in almost a month as they returned to winning ways at just the right time ahead of their Champions League showdown with Sevilla on Wednesday. Hartberg opened the scoring through Noel Niemann and both sides then had goals disallowed through Donis Avdijaj and Karim Adeyemi respectively, before Salzburg struck twice in the final quarter of an hour to seal the points: Rasmus Kristensen restored parity with a piledriver that flew in off the underside of the crossbar in the 79th minute, before Jérome Onguéné tapped the ball in from close range with four minutes of normal time remaining. The result kept Matthias Jaissle’s men 12 point clear at the summit, while Hartberg dropped out of the top six and down into eighth.
LASK 1-0 SV Guntamatic Ried
LASK exacted revenge on derby rivals Ried for their defeat in the reverse fixture and earned themselves Upper Austrian bragging rights courtesy of a 1-0 home win. The first major talking point came after only three minutes as Milos Jovicic was shown a straight red card for a deliberate attempt to deny a goalscoring opportunity with his hand, with Sascha Horvath stepping up from the spot to open the scoring. The match did not lose any of its spiciness, with Peter Michorl also given his marching orders for a second bookable offence five minutes into the second period, but the Linzers held on to claim an important win as they make a late charge for a place in the top six. Interim boss Andi Wieland’s side occupy 10th place in the table, with a four-point gap to make up in the remaining five rounds of the regular season. Ried, in seventh on 21 points, dropped out of the top half for the time being but remain in the running.
SK Rapid Wien 1-1 FK Austria Wien
The 334th Vienna derby between Rapid and Austria, which ended 1-1, was by no means a classic – but it did get off to an exciting start. Matthias Braunöder became the first Austria player to score in the first minute of a derby against Rapid in over seven years, before Ercan Kara put the Green & Whites – whose new coach Ferdinand Feldhofer was making his dugout debut – on level terms from the spot in the 25th minute. Compelling chances were few and far between in the second period, however, as these two tradition-steeped clubs played out their fifth consecutive Bundesliga draw. But the point was enough to lift the two teams – who went into the clash in seventh and eighth place respectively – into the top half of the table. It was the ninth time this season the Violets have shared the spoils – the most of any Bundesliga club.
RZ Pellets WAC 3-0 CASHPOINT SCR Altach
Anyone wondering why the Austrian Bundesliga breaks for two months over the winter need look no further than the pre-match images of a snow-capped Lavanttal-Arena on Sunday afternoon. The weather conditions even forced the game to be postponed by a few hours, but the delayed kick-off – accompanied by an orange ball – did little to disrupt an in-form Wolfsberg side, who comfortably claimed their seventh win in eight games against struggling basement boys Altach. Tai Baribo opened the scoring for Robin Dutt’s side, before Dario Vizinger and Eliel Peretz added goals in the final 20 minutes to complete the 3-0 win. The Wolves are now up into second place, two points clear of third-placed Sturm, while Altach, who have lost their last five Bundesliga matches without scoring a goal, remain firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.