FK Austria Vienna 2-0 SK Rapid Vienna
It was a day to remember for the Violet side of Vienna as they dispatched arch rivals SK Rapid Vienna 2-0 in the 338th edition of the Wiener Derby, as well as qualifying for the Championship Group for the second season in a row.
In-form striker Haris Tabakovic opened the scoring with an unorthodox half-volley for his seventh goal of 2023 so far - no player has scored more this year - and slotted for the fourth game in a row. Israeli international Doron Leidner followed with a drilled second half strike to put Austria into an unassailable lead in front of the sold-out 15,200 capacity crowd.
The Violets were more efficient with their opportunities and survived multiple Rapid chances, most notably Guido Burgstaller heading off the crossbar, to celebrate a first home Derby win in over four years. Rapid, on the other hand, have now gone nine matches without a win against their city rivals. All of this meant that Michael Wimmer was victorious in his first Wiener Derby and that Zoran Barisic's Rapid finished fourth in the regular season, just one point ahead of Austria.
FC Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 CASHPOINT SCR Altach
Red Bull Salzburg failed to set a new points record for the ADMIRAL Bundesliga regular season after a surprise final day draw against bottom club Altach, meaning they reached the 55 points mark for the third time since the 2018/19 season.
Atdhe Nuhiu gave the underdogs a surprise lead at the Red Bull Arena in the 55th minute with his ninth goal of the season - a new personal best for the Kosovan. However, Benjamin Sesko equalised seven minutes from time capitalising from an excellent assist from Noah Okafor to prevent a first home defeat since December 2020. It was Sesko’s 10th goal of the season, with the future RB Leipzig man now doubling his amount from the previous two seasons already.
Despite the excellent result for Miroslav Klose’s side, Altach finished bottom of the regular season, one point behind Hartberg and Ried - setting up an extremely tight Qualification Group after the international break.
SC Austria Lustenau 4-2 SK Austria Klagenfurt
Despite a defeat in Vorarlberg, SK Austria Klagenfurt qualified for the Championship Group for the second season in a row since promotion in 2021. They did it the hard way, being outnumbered for 86 minutes of the game after a foul by Florian Rieder saw a very early red card. However, as WSG Tirol didn’t win against Sturm Graz, the Carinthians returned to the top six, whilst Lustenau took all three points.
The Vorarlberg side took full advantage after Till Schumacher’s unfortunate own goal put them ahead in the 25th minute, but Klagenfurt hit back via Scottish midfielder Andy Irving from the spot. Yadaly Diaby restored the advantage before the break with a stunner from the edge of the box.
All hell broke loose in injury time with three quickfire goals, Michael Cheukoua taking advantage of lacklustre defending to add Lustenau’s third, Markus Pink hit back for the Violets from distance for his 16th goal of the season, but Emrehan Gedikli had the final word shooting from distance into the empty net for their fourth of the evening.
TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 2-2 LASK
LASK’s winless run against TSV Hartberg was extended to eight games as Didi Kühbauer’s men ended their regular season with a draw in Styria, and were saved from defeat by a fortunate 87th minute own goal from Patrick Farkas.
The visitors were looking to end the season on a high, but Lukas Fadinger had other ideas and put the hosts ahead with a long range effort mid-way through the first half, before Robert Zulj had levelled it up with an excellent header inside the box in the 36th minute - his first header in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga for almost 10 years.
With 15 minutes remaining Ruben Providence found himself alone in the penalty area to fire home from close range, but LASK rallied and equalised late with Farkas guiding the ball into his own net - although Marin Ljubicic was ghosting in behind the defender to finish. The Linzers finish the regular season in third, whilst Hartberg face a difficult spring sitting in the bottom three of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga table.
WSG Tirol 0-2 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
WSG Tirol missed the opportunity to qualify for the Championship Group at the final hurdle after losing to title challengers Sturm Graz. Emanuel Emegha and Albian Ajeti both put their name on the scoresheet in the second half to make sure they took advantage of Salzburg’s surprise draw to begin the top six with only a three point gap to the leaders.
Despite the big prize on the line for WSG Tirol, the first half saw few chances with Tomi Horvat’s long range effort the only effort on target during the first 45 minutes, met by a top save from WSG keeper Ferdinand Oswald.
In the 66th minute the deadlock was broken by Sturm as Emegha took advantage of a defensive lapse to slot home into the open goal. Emegha saw a goal ruled out for offside, but with four minutes to go Ajeti was there from inside the six-yard box to add a second goal and secure all three points for Christian Ilzer’s men and the prospect of a thrilling end of the season for the Black and Whites. .
SV Guntamatic Ried 0-0 RZ Pellets WAC
A final day goalless draw between two clubs already assured of Qualification Group football meant that SV Ried finished second from bottom, with Wolfsberger AC only three points ahead in ninth. Unfortunately, the game will be overshadowed by the potential injury to Ried captain Stefan Nutz who came off after a few minutes with a suspected cruciate ligament tear.
Chances for Leo Mikic and Philipp Pomer went begging for the hosts, but their best opportunity came just before the break as Aleksandar Lutovac had a one-on-one opportunity with WAC keeper Hendrik Bonmann but only hit the crossbar with his lob attempt. The visitors from Carinthia were tame throughout and could only count on a Nikolas Veratschnig shot well over the crossbar to their credit.
Ried will feel they missed out on a priceless first home win since mid-October with a late opportunity for Belmin Beganovic failing to hit the target, followed by Julian Turi going close from the subsequent corner.
Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga
Fotos: GEPA pictures