FC Red Bull Salzburg 0-1 FC Blau Weiß Linz
Promoted side Blau Weiß Linz pulled off a monumental shock to defeat a heavily rotated Salzburg team in their own backyard, ending a long unbeaten streak in the process.
The hosts made nine changes to the XI that sensationally beat Benfica away in midweek, but Sekou Koita nearly put them ahead regardless when his early turn and shot crept just past the post. The first half saw chances for Dijon Kameri, Dorgeles Nene and Luka Sucic, as visiting keeper Nicolas Schmid had plenty to keep him busy, but after the break it was a different story.
The Linzers grew in confidence as the game went on at 0-0, and with Salzburg making uncharacteristic errors in the build-up, Conor Noss had three efforts on goal with no success, before Kamil Piatkowski gave the ball away once more on the hour mark, and Blau Weiß picked them off. Noss moved the ball forward for Ronivaldo, and the Brazilian turned in space before picking out the far corner to make it 1-0 with his third goal of the season. Rather than laying siege to the visitors’ goal, Salzburg struggled to find any rhythm despite enjoying 73% of the possession, and ultimately a stoppage-time header from Petar Ratkov was all they could muster, and it was comfortably saved. Blau Weiß ran out winners to end Salzburg’s 37-game unbeaten Bundesliga run, and snap a mammoth 45-match spell without defeat on home turf. The three points takes them up to ninth, whilst Salzburg’s lead at the top is down to just one point.
SK Austria Klagenfurt 1-0 SC Austria Lustenau
Bottom club Lustenau made high-flying Klagenfurt battle all the way to take the three points at the 28 Black Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Peter Pacult’s home side came flying out of the blocks, and after failing to convert from a few good chances, they took a deserved lead with just over 20 minutes played. A quick pass from Andy Irving gave Sinan Karweina acres of room on the right, and his square ball was turned in for an own goal by Anderson, although Jonas Arweiler would have surely swept it into the net anyway.
From that point on, Lustenau found a new level, and Nikolai Baden Fredriksen - who is edging closer to full fitness - hit the outside of the post with one effort, and saw another sail just over. Klagenfurt’s play became ever more passive, but Lustenau couldn’t take advantage as Anthony Schmid poked a good chance wide, Torben Rhein saw his free kick tipped over the bar by Phillip Menzel, Jonathan Schmid was also denied and the hosts held out for a third win of the season which sees them move back up to fourth. Austria Lustenau stay rooted to the foot of the table with just two points and five goals in their eight games so far.
WSG Tirol 2-3 RZ Pellets WAC
An end-to-end game at the Tivoli Stadium finished with a flurry, as WSG’s comeback was rendered meaningless by a late Wolfsberg penalty.
A smart first-time finish from Augustine Boakye put WAC ahead early on, and they would strike early again in the second half; Thomas Sabitzer got the assist against his former club, his one-two pass set up Mohamed Bamba, who curled a shot into the far corner for a 2-0 lead.
WSG showed real character though as Julias Ertlthaler responded with a wonderful dipping strike to reduce the deficit after 51 minutes, and when a cross came all the way through the area for Nik Prelec, he lashed the ball powerfully past the keeper with his third goal of this term to level things up before an hour had been played. WAC soon got themselves back in gear though, and they went close on numerous occasions before winning a spot kick for a handball in added time. Bernhard Zimmermann converted with aplomb to seal the win for Wolfsberg and move his side up to eighth place, whilst WSG remain in 11th.
LASK 0-0 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg
LASK couldn’t bounce back from a midweek defeat by Liverpool, and they missed a penalty as they were held at home against an impressive Hartberg outfit on Sunday.
A beautiful combination on the counter after 25 minutes went unrewarded for Hartberg as Dominik Prokop’s finish bobbled back off the far post, but the guests continued to play attacking football. Donis Avdijaj had a game-high five shots, and saw one of those slam against the same post just a few minutes later, and when the ball came back into the box, another Avdijaj effort was somehow ballooned over the bar from just three yards out. LASK had little to shout about in the first 45, and keeper Tobias Lawal was by far the busier, although Florian Flecker did test Hartberg stopper Raphael Sallinger with a decent long-range strike just before the break.
In the second half the hosts clicked into gear, and Sallinger had to be at his best to turn away a Robert Zulj penalty, and also reacted well to another acrobatic shot from Flecker. The guests tried to resume their counter-attacking football from the first half, but there was only one good run from Ruben Providence to show for their efforts as it was LASK who went closer to finding a winner, but nobody could claim the three points on the day. The hosts stay in third, four points off the top, and Hartberg drop to fifth despite a decent draw, they’re three points further back.
CASHPOINT SCR Altach 2-1 FK Austria Vienna
Former Austria player Joachim Standfest led his Altach team to a big win over the Violets which leaves the Vienna side deep in trouble near the foot of the table.
Last season’s assist leader Dominik Fitz got his first of the new season when his fifth-minute corner was turned home at the front post by Johannes Handl, but once again Austria couldn’t capitalise on an early lead. Just seconds later, Christian Gebauer flicked a header into the path of Lukas Fadinger, and he grabbed his second goal for Altach by lifting the ball past the on-rushing keeper to equalise. The hosts had a penalty on 15 minutes after the ball had hit Andreas Gruber’s arm in the area, and Mike-Steven Bähre calmly played it straight down the middle to complete the quick turnaround. Hakim Guenouche hit the bar for the guests as they searched for a leveller, and although his team wanted a spot kick, nothing was forthcoming after a VAR check.
Altach also survived a worrying moment when the ball appeared to touch Atdhe Nuhiu’s arm in the area, before they found their foothold again with chances for Gebauer, and a shot from Nuhiu which was hammered against the crossbar and away. Altach have now hit the woodwork six times this season, more than any other team in the league. Gruber’s unlucky day continued for Austria though, as he had the ball in the net for 2-2, but saw that effort ruled out for a handball just before he forced the ball over the line, and then the game was broken up by second yellow cards in separate incidents for both Nuhiu and Austria’s Lucas Galvao; Mirko Kos also saw red from the Austria bench late on. The guests have just five points, their lowest ever tally after eight games, as Altach moved up into the top six with their third win of the season.
SK Rapid Vienna 1-1 SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz
A hard-fought encounter in Hütteldorf left both teams disappointed, as Sturm missed the chance to go top, and Rapid missed the chance to record a much-needed win.
Sturm were looking to recover from a European defeat at the hands of Sporting CP on Thursday, and they began well against Rapid as defender Dimitri Lavalee fired against the post on his starting debut. However, the hosts were well up for the occasion, and they led after 21 minutes when a good breakaway came to Marco Grüll, and Matthias Seidl’s shot was scooped by keeper Kjell Scherpen into the path of defender David Schnegg who turned the ball into his own net in unfortunate circumstances. Just four minutes later, a deflected shot fell for Alexander Prass on the edge of the box, and he arrowed in a superb strike to bring the game back to 1-1 with his first goal of the season for Sturm.
Rapid’s young team remained on the offensive after the break, and after several half-chances Grüll found Seidl again in a good position but he could only shoot wide. With 77 minutes gone, as the Rapid supporters celebrated 35 years of their Ultras fan group behind the goal, Nicolas Kühn and Fally Mayulu had all the time in the world to score with only the Sturm keeper to beat, yet Mayulu’s finish was fired over the bar with the net empty at the back post. The hosts still had the better of the remaining chances, and Sturm’s only close effort came when Jon Gorenc-Stankovic flashed a shot across the face of goal late on, but both sides were left frustrated by the draw. Sturm close the gap at the top to just one point, Rapid slip to seventh place.
Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga
Fotos: GEPA pictures