WSG Tirol 1-1 LASK
WSG earned their first point of the Bundesliga season in a back-and-forth clash against LASK. Despite coming in off the back of three straight defeats, WSG bossed the opening stages in Innsbruck, and new signing Matthäus Taferner saw a great chance well-blocked by Andres Andrade. When LASK defender Filip Stojkovic gave the ball away though, Aleksander Buksa threaded it through for Nik Prelec to put the hosts ahead on 16 minutes. Prelec has now scored seven Bundesliga goals, four of which have come against LASK.
WSG had their chances to double the lead, only to be denied by Tobias Lawal in the LASK goal, but when defender Felix Bacher caught an unlucky bobble before his back-pass, substitute Elias Havel made it a Bundesliga debut to remember for the guests. Just 23 seconds after coming on, Havel fired home the equaliser with his first touch in the league! LASK then laid siege to the WSG goal for the final 20 minutes, but despite Philipp Ziereis and Thomas Goiginger going close, it remained 1-1 and the points were shared on Saturday.
SC Austria Lustenau 0-1 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
Sturm Graz returned to winning ways with a narrow victory on the road in Vorarlberg on Saturday.
Lustenau newcomer Namory Cisse went close with a header in the second minute, before Yadaly Diaby curled wide for the hosts. Szymon Wlodarczyk then bundled the ball home for what he thought was the first goal, only for that to be chalked off for a handball in the build-up. Sturm didn’t have to wait long for a valid goal though, as a 33rd minute corner was sliced towards Gregory Wüthrich in the area, and he steered the ball calmly home for the game’s only goal. Sturm’s day did have a sour note, with debutant striker Seedy Jatta lasting just six minutes before being forced off with an injury. Torben Rhein crashed a deflected shot off the post for Lustenau in the second half, but Sturm’s tight defence ultimately held out for the win. Graz stopper Kjell Scherpen became only the second keeper to keep a clean sheet in each of his first four full Bundesliga appearances (after Oleg Suslov in 1997). Three points put unbeaten Sturm in second place, whilst Lustenau are 10th with two points collected so far.
SK Austria Klagenfurt 1-1 CASHPOINT SCR Altach
Klagenfurt and Altach shared the spoils at the 28 Black Arena, as the guests made it two late goals in their last two games.
A first half of few chances in Carinthia paved the way for a much more open second half, and seven minutes after the break the hosts had the lead. Simon Straudi’s fine wing play saw him cross the ball for Sinan Karweina. The German striker appeared to lose the ball under pressure in the box, before Andy Irving quickly won it back, poking it free for him to lash into the bottom corner. Karweina has now been involved in at least one goal in each of his last four appearances (3 goals, 2 assists) as his link-up with Irving continues to bear fruit for Austria Klagenfurt. At least one of the pair has been involved with five of the team’s six goals this season.
Altach grew as an attacking force as the game went on though, and Atdhe Nuhiu had two headed goals ruled out (offside, attacking foul) yet Klagenfurt didn’t heed the warning signs. Leonardo Lukacevic’s delivery met the head of Gustavo Santos, and he planted it into the net after 84 minutes to leave things level at the end.
Klagenfurt remain unbeaten in fourth, Altach move to ninth, on four points.
FK Austria Vienna 0-0 RZ Pellets WAC
After being on the wrong side of an eight-goal thriller in midweek, Austria Vienna played out a goalless draw at home on Sunday, despite both teams having good chances.
WAC’s Ervin Omic fired straight at home keeper Christian Früchtl with 20 minutes gone, before a Dominik Fitz shot was cleared off the line at the other end. Despite a long injury list, Austria managed to push on after the break and Manfred Fischer forced a solid stop from WAC goalie Hendrik Bonmann, before a scramble in the box led to a brilliant double save to deny Muharem Huskovic from close range. As the game came to a close, Wolfsberg so nearly won it, but Adis Jasic’s clean side-footed strike after a break down the right came crashing back off the woodwork, and Thomas Sabitzer miscued his header on the follow-up to leave it at 0-0.
WAC are now six games unbeaten away from home (4 wins, 2 draws), the longest stretch in the club’s history, the point leaves them in 5th, with Austria Vienna in 8th.
FC Blau Weiß Linz 0-5 SK Rapid Vienna
Former Blau Weiß favourites Matthias Seidl and Fally Mayulu both featured for Rapid against their old club, as the visitors claimed a second 5-0 win in succession, after Thursday night’s UECL qualifying win.
Moritz Oswald set up Guido Burgstaller for a brace in the first half, which included a towering header for the opener; Oswald’s two assists took just 22 minutes, compared to only one assist in his last two Bundesliga seasons. He thought that he’d scored a first Bundesliga goal too, but his overhead kick was ruled out for a handball in the build up.
Leopold Querfeld simply slotted the ball home from the back post in the second half after Martin Moormann flicked-on a corner kick, before Fally Mayulu came on and tormented his old teammates. A clever clipped pass through the defence played in Ante Bajic who made it 4-0 with his first league goal of the season, before Bajic returned the favour, winning a penalty kick from Stefan Haudum’s shirt tug in stoppage time, which Mayulu dispatched for a first Bundesliga goal. A one-sided win takes Rapid up to third, with Blau-Weiß falling to the foot of the table with one point from four games.
TSV Egger Glas Hartberg 1-5 FC Red Bull Salzburg
The youngest ever Bundesliga starting XI - with an average age of 21 years and 40 days - helped Salzburg cruise to another big win, this time on the road against Hartberg, who incidentally started with their own youngest ever XI - on average 23 years and 280 days.
The hosts had the day’s first big chance, when Maximilian Entrup was denied by Salzburg keeper Schlager, but after a quarter of an hour, visiting captain Amar Dedic upped the tempo with a lovely run and pass for Oscar Gloukh, who then buried the ball in the corner from outside the box to put Salzburg ahead. In first half stoppage time though, a long Hartberg clearance downfield dropped perfectly for Entrup to run clear and slot in the equaliser to delight the home crowd. The impressive Entrup now has three goals in his first four Bundesliga games for Hartberg, a club record.
The celebrations didn’t last long after the interval though, as the on-form Karim Konate intercepted a pass from the home keeper and put the chance away to restore Salzburg’s lead in the 47th minute. It became 3-1 a few minutes later when Amar Dedic arrowed in a lovely low near post finish with his right foot. He repeated the trick with his left when he finished off another bursting run forward by burying the ball in at the other side of Raphael Sallinger’s goal for 4-1 midway through the half. It’s the first time Dedic has been involved in three goals in one Bundesliga game. Strahinja Pavolvic claimed two assists for himself as he laid on a volley for Sekou Koita who finished off the rout with goal number five.
Salzburg sit ominously atop the table with a perfect four wins from four, having scored 12 goals and conceded just one. Hartberg suffered a first defeat of the season; they’re 7th with five points.
Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga
Fotos: GEPA pictures