The people of Linz separated from Austria Klagenfurt and thus a direct competitor only 2:2 and are still only in ninth place three laps before the end of the regular season. On paper, the Linzers were able to catch up one point to sixth place thanks to the draw, three points behind Austria Wien as well as fifth Rapid and seventh Ried. Only leaders Salzburg, second-placed Wolfsberg and Sturm Graz are safe or almost through.
Eighth Hartberg is one point ahead of LASK, while Klagenfurt is still five points away as fourth. It will be difficult for Linz to catch up, at least from the starting position. Admira, second to bottom, is waiting away on Saturday, but then there are duels with the top teams in the league, Salzburg (home) and WAC (away). “It’s clear that the opponents won’t get any easier in the rest of the program, but we’ll give it our all,” promised Wieland.
Exclusion brought about a turning point
Captain Peter Michorl is missing against Admira after his yellow-red card (64th). “Due to some stupidity, this game has tipped over, so we’re wasting our work. We will address that internally,” announced the LASK coach. His team had clearly controlled the game up to the point of elimination and should have been up more than 1-0 thanks to Marko Raguz’s early goal (14′). Even more than the lack of chances Wieland foxed the scoring of the goals. “Two goals at home have to be enough. What annoys me are the two goals conceded and how they came about.”
In the first, the defensive behavior after a Greil corner didn’t fit, which is why Thorsten Mahrer (73rd) was able to score in the end. In the finish, Felix Luckeneder caused another penalty with an unnecessary foul, which Turgay Gemicibasi (91st) converted safely. In between, Branko Jovicic (76th) ensured the hosts took the lead again. Raguz had prepared the goal in an exemplary manner, so when he made his comeback at the championship level he shone with a goal – Linz’s first header this season – and an assist.
The second half was clearly the better one for the Klagenfurt team, but the point gain still had to be classified as a happy one. “We didn’t find the thread until the second half to annoy Linz a bit. At half-time we said we had to be more snappy and aggressive on the ball and in tackles. It was an open game until the end,” analyzed Klagenfurt coach Peter Pacult after his 200th game as Bundesliga coach. He did not blame Gemicibasi for his goal-taking foul and red card in the 96th minute.
Austria eases the pressure
After the 2-0 win at Altach and, according to coach Manfred Schmid, having passed the maturity test, Austria Wien is looking forward to the last three games of the regular season with confidence. “I’m very proud of the team,” said Schmid. “She threw everything in and delivered a very strong first half.” The only downer in the first 45 minutes was the poor evaluation of chances. “We could have decided the game earlier,” said the Austria coach.
Nevertheless, there was no longer any danger for the Violets to gamble away the win, emphasized Schmid. “In the second half we didn’t play so clearly forward, but we didn’t allow anything either and therefore won comfortably.” This gives hope for a top six place after the end of the regular season. In the event of a defeat, Austria would only have had outsider chances. “That’s why it was very important for this young team, because the pressure was very high. But it was a very mature achievement and a big step in the right direction,” summarized Schmid.
Ried clings to the positive
SV Ried, on the other hand, slipped out of the top six after losing 2-1 in Wolfsberg. Neo-coach Robert Ibertsberger was disappointed about the narrow defeat in Wolfsberg, especially since the performance in the second half was right. “We pushed WAC into their own half and created good moments. That was very positive and we take with us that we can determine the WAC at home with our game,” said Ibertsberger.
The 45-year-old was upset not only because of the two goals conceded, but also about the referee. In the final phase of the game, there was a penalty alert after a handball by WAC defender Michael Novak. Referee Gerhard Grobelnik reviewed the situation on video but did not award a penalty. “We were denied a very clear penalty, I don’t understand how you can’t give it,” Ibertsberger said angrily.
The Ried trainer had to look ahead, however, because next Saturday WSG Tirol is an opponent who urgently needs a win to make it into the championship group. The Watteners are four points behind Rieder after beating Sturm 2-2. “We know that we have to play to win in Ried. It’s up to my team whether we dock again or not,” said coach Thomas Silberberger.
Hartberg feels CoV after-effects
Hartberg only made one point in the 1-1 draw against Admira. TSV coach Kurt Russ saw a certain amount of wear and tear on his team, which had beaten Rapid in the cup quarter-finals, against the Südstädter, who had improved at the start of spring. The coronavirus wave in the Styrian squad last week did not go unnoticed. However, Russ immediately announced that he wanted to use the coming week intensively. The game at Wiener Austria on Saturday could show Hartberg the way. Only two counters are missing on the violets.
After that, the difficult trip to Graz to Sturm and a home game against WSG Tirol await. Russ saw a three at Austria as “necessary” if the goals were still to be achieved. “Anyone who beats Rapid away from home doesn’t need to be afraid of Austria either,” he said, referring to the Cup appearance in Hütteldorf. He was “convinced that we will take something with us”. Goalkeeper Rene Swete is then available again for Hartberg, even if substitute Florian Faist did not look bad in his two appearances.
