ADMIRAL Bundesliga Matchday 25 Reviews

Championship Group

SK Puntigamer Sturm Graz 1-0 LASK

Sturm hit back in the Bundesliga title race with a gritty win over LASK to eat into Salzburg’s lead on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Graz.

The home side showed no signs of fatigue following their dramatic Cup win over Salzburg, as Mika Biereth broke clear only to be denied by stopper Tobias Lawal 18 minutes into the game, before a headed clearance fell to Alexander Prass two minutes later, and he rifled a low shot on target from the edge of the area which had too much on it for Lawal to keep out. The Austria international’s fourth goal of the term takes him clear of his combined goal tally from the past two seasons, and Sturm were grateful for their slender lead.

William Böving perhaps should have squared the ball to Biereth in another good Sturm chance which ended up wide, before Elias Havel turned in the box and fired at the home keeper with LASK’s first good look at goal just before half-time. After the interval a quick long ball from Vit Jaros released Biereth all the way downfield, but he was thwarted again one-on-one, and the guests then began to look the fresher side in the closing stages as Havel played in Moses Usor on the right for a great chance which was parried, as was a long, low shot from Florian Flecker. Sturm crucially held onto their one-goal advantage as they reduced the deficit at the top of the table to three points, LASK drop to fourth in the table, level with SK Rapid on 21 points.

SK Austria Klagenfurt 2-2 TSV Egger Glas Hartberg

A 98th minute spot kick denied Hartberg a first win in the group, as Klagenfurt shared the spoils in an entertaining clash on Sunday.

The home side had the first chance when Sinan Karweina put a bullet-header wide after just seven minutes, but at the other end Dominik Prokop was pulled down in the box, allowing Maximilan Entrup to fire home a penalty for his 10th goal of the season on 26 minutes. Only club legend Dario Tadic has managed more in a Bundesliga season for the Styrians. Moments later, a Klagenfurt free-kick landed kindly in the area for Kosmas Gkezos, who gratefully lashed in a quick equaliser, but then Hartberg took control. Ruben Providence grazed the bar with a cultured long range effort, before Tobias Kainz delivered a great ball in which was ultimately scrambled home by Prokop in first half stoppage time for his eighth scorer point of the campaign.

Max Entrup fired wide even later in the half at the end of a slick passing move, and despite Hartberg also having more of the chances after the break, it was Klagenfurt who struck back in the dying seconds. Visiting keeper Raphael Sallinger came out to punch clear but missed the ball and connected only with forward Nicolas Binder, and Andy Irving took the chance to score the latest goal of the season from the spot, and Klagenfurt’s latest in the league, to tie things at 2-2. A first point for both teams in the group keeps them in fifth and sixth respectively.

FC Red Bull Salzburg 1-1 SK Rapid

Salzburg failed to fully bounce back from their midweek ÖFB Cup exit, as a last-gasp Marco Grüll goal gave Rapid a point on the road.

It was the Green & Whites who started on the front foot against the defending champions, as Oumar Solet was almost forced into scoring an early own goal, and then Roko Simic incredibly cleared off the line via his own goal post from a Rapid double-chance. Salzburg then came into their own and tested the Rapid defence, with Karim Konate heading a good chance over the bar in first-half stoppage time.

After the break there were a couple more chances for the Ivorian who had come on after 25 minutes to replace the injured Fernando, but Nikolas Hedl and his centre backs managed to keep him at bay. Rapid’s defensive hard work was undone late in the day, as a square ball came loose for Konate to nip in at close range and score his 11th goal of the season with just three minutes to go, yet the guests then suddenly started to dominate. Alexander Schlager saved one header on target with a full-stretch dive, but when the next header hit the arm of Aleksa Terzic deep into stoppage time, up stepped Grüll to rifle home a great penalty and move clear as the Bundesliga top-scorer with 12 goals. In the process, he earned a point which took Rapid into third place, as Salzburg’s lead at the top was reduced to three.

Qualification Group

CASHPOINT SCR Altach 0-0 WSG Tirol

The teams in the bottom six remain tight together after yet another Friday night stalemate, this time as Altach and WSG couldn’t be separated in Vorarlberg.

Having picked up the only win of anyone in the group last time out, WSG wanted to push on again with three more points, but Altach had the better of the first half and saw an Atdhe Nuhiu finish ruled out for offside, before keeper Dejan Stojanovic had to be replaced by Tobias Schützenauer 24 minutes in.

The hosts kept the upper hand in the second half, and defender Paul Koller made an immediate impact in attack with a double chance following a cross into the area. In the ensuing chaos, striker Nuhiu picked up a fifth yellow card, meaning he’ll miss the next game. Another decent leap saw Koller force a good save with his next headed effort after an hour, as Altach were continually thwarted by desperate defensive interventions. WSG thought a smash-and-grab win was possible when Sandi Ogrinec fired in through a crowd late on, but the goal was chalked off for a foul in the build-up, so both sides had to settle for a point. Altach keep their noses in front of WSG with both now on 12 points.

FK Austria Wien 1-1 SC Austria Lustenau

Austria Wien remain unbeaten in the Qualification Group, but are yet to pick up a win either, as two penalties led to a hard-fought draw in the capital when top of the group played bottom.

The Violets bossed the opening 45 minutes, and Andreas Gruber glanced a header across goal and onto the far post, as well as having another effort cleared off the line by Lustenau defender Pius Grabher. Although the guests offered nothing in attack, they coped valiantly with the loss of centre back Luca Meisl, who sadly left the game with an ACL injury after half an hour.

The visitors’ Paterson Chato was adjudged to have led with his elbow in an aerial challenge on 58 minutes, and Dominik Fitz converted the penalty for Austria Wien to make it five goals in his last five matches, however, a handball would afford Lustenau a spot kick chance of their own. Lukas Fridrikas slotted it home for his first goal since July 2023, and the guests then began to threaten for the final 15 minutes. In the end, a stoppage time volley from Fitz sailed wide as the home side rallied at the death, but neither team could find a winner. Austria continue to lead the group by one point; Lustenau are five back from WSG and Blau-Weiß Linz.

FC Blau Weiss Linz 0-0 RZ Pellets WAC

A third-successive goalless draw did little to move Blau-Weiß Linz away from the relegation place below, but WAC were also unable to get on the score sheet and failed to move top of the group.

For a game without goals there were a lot of chances in Linz on Saturday, as Wolfsberg’s Thierno Ballo had the first of his three shots on target saved in the early stages. Both sides had penalty appeals waved away before the break, and Ballo also hit the post with a downward header from a promising position.

After the interval Ronivaldo steered a similar header wide for the hosts, Sandro Altunashvili was unlucky to see his thunderous effort from outside the box come back off the crossbar for WAC, and Julian Gölles had one shot saved and watched another fly just past the far post as Blau-Weiß stayed without a goal in four games. Wolfsberg have now drawn four successive games for the first time in the Bundesliga, and they remain a point away from the top of the group, with the home side down in 10th, five points ahead of Lustenau; from nine group games overall there have now been eight draws.

Redakteur: The Other Bundesliga

Fotos: GEPA pictures