“We didn’t lose the qualification for the championship round today. We left too many points in the fall. That’s disappointing, but we can’t turn back the clock,” said LASK trainer Andreas Wieland. The eighth in sixth place is only three points away, but it can no longer be reached, since a direct comparison would speak in favor of the Viennese if they were tied with Rapid and Ried. LASK is not there for the first time, Rapid and Austria have been missing in recent years.
The people of Linz could almost have taken advantage of Salzburg’s preparation, which was severely impaired by 17 coronavirus cases among players, but there was a lack of the last pass or callousness in the end. “You just have to take advantage of chances like this against Salzburg,” said Wieland. Otherwise he could hardly accuse his team of anything. Even an unnecessary yellow-red card from Rene Renner (50th/Wieland: “That wasn’t smart”) didn’t prevent the home side from vehemently pushing for the winning goal in the finish.
LASK missed master group
The championship group of the Bundesliga takes place for the first time without LASK. A 0-0 draw against champions and table leaders Red Bull Salzburg was not enough for the people of Linz on Wednesday in the supplementary game of the 21st round, and LASK can no longer make it into the top six.
The superiority was also reflected in the statistics, which showed a balance of 12:5 shots, with Salzburg not having a single shot against Linz’s six. With 59 percent of duels won, the hosts were also ahead of the pack.
“One of our best performances of the season” is not enough
“If the circumstances were different, we would sit there and say: ‘We saw an excellent performance, the result is okay too.’ I think we saw one of our best performances of the season with a very clear play off the ball, winning possession and scoring chances that resulted. Even outnumbered, there was a lot of mentality and will to leave the three points in Pasching. Unfortunately, we didn’t succeed,” said Wieland.
Positive look ahead
A game without conceding a goal and the fact that, for the first time since February 2020, they have not lost in a competitive game against the “Bulls” are very successful. “The game makes me extremely positive, as does the performance in spring in general,” said Wieland, looking ahead. His team is unbeaten in five rounds. “I am convinced that we will continue this series now,” said the 38-year-old. Against the WAC on Sunday there will be the last top league game of the season for the time being. After that, the qualification group is the daily bread.
“It hurts, but we showed what we’re capable of and I’m absolutely convinced that we’ll finish seventh,” said offensive player Sascha Horvath, who is aiming for the place that entitles him to the European Cup play-off. Speaking of the European Cup. The league is only part of the task in the next few weeks, on Thursday the round of 16 first leg in the Europa Conference League at Slavia Prague is due. By then, striker Marko Raguz could be fit again.
Salzburg’s race against time
For Salzburg, the race against time is getting even tighter. After the coronavirus misery, some players are still out of action, and Oumar Solet probably joined the long list of absentees with a muscle injury in his thigh. However, the round of 16 second leg in the UEFA Champions League against FC Bayern is already waiting in Munich on Tuesday – the score is 1-1 at half-time.
After all, an important player could return with Maximilian Wöber. “We had an extraordinary situation that was a challenge for everyone. Now the players who were CoV positive have to be brought back to their level of performance,” said Salzburg coach Matthias Jaissle. It remains to be seen who he will then fall back on in Munich – before that there is still Saturday’s home game against Altach at the bottom. “It largely depends on how difficult the courses were, they were different for the players. We will get an accurate picture.”
Not surprisingly, Salzburg were unable to match their top form in Pasching. Recently you could only train with four players, only the final training session on Tuesday went as you would imagine. “Considering the preparation, which was very special for us, we can live with the point,” said Jaissle. With a lead of 16 points over Sturm Graz, you can afford a draw. “It was a cold start for many, you could see that one or the other player didn’t get to 100 percent. I hope that it will be different again against Altach.”
Admiral Bundesliga, 21st round, addendum
Wednesday:
LASK – Salzburg 0-0
Pasching, Raiffeisen Arena, 4,845 spectators, SR Spurny
LASK: Schlager – Potzmann, Boller, Wiesinger, Renner – Holland, Jovicic (46./Michorl) – Flecker, Horvath, Goiginger (84./Gruber) – Balic (75./Schmidt)
Salzburg: Köhn – Kristensen, Piatkowski, Solet (23./Van der Brempt), Guindo – Capaldo, Diambou (46./N. Seiwald), Aaronson, Bernede (46./Kjaergaard) – Adamu (85./Forson), Adeyemi ( 78./Tijani)
Yellow-red card: Renner (50th/foul)
Yellow cards: Flecker or Kjaergaard, Capaldo, Tijani
The best: Holland, Horvath, Boller or Köhn, Kristensen
