“After the break we showed our quality,” said LASK defender Hrvoje Smolcic. “We fought for each other and left everything on the pitch.” In the end, however, it wasn’t enough to score against soccer champions Sturm Graz in a 2-1 defeat at home.
LASK coach Markus Schopp had deliberately divided the game into two parts in his match plan because the Styrians had two more days of rest after their Champions League game against Sporting (0-2) on Tuesday than the athletes, who played away on Thursday Lost in the Conference League against Olimpija Ljubljana (0:2). “We wanted to give them more possession of the ball and keep the spaces narrow,” explained Schopp. “We succeeded quite well.” Sturm initially only became dangerous thanks to Linz’s help. In the first minute, goalkeeper Jörg Siebenhandl saved Valon Berisha from an own goal from a corner (1st), a short shift in play by Robert Zulj became an opportunity for Mika Biereth: LASK defense chief Philipp Ziereis cleared in front of the line (30th). .
The champions punished the next mistake with the 1-0 (33rd minute): It started with a poor clearance by Filip Stojkovic, and in the end storm captain Otar Kiteishvili headed the ball from Max Johnston’s cross. The fact that the Georgian is only 1.73 meters tall wasn’t a problem because no one from Linz was nearby to lead a header duel.
In the second half, LASK became more energetic as planned – after a “smoke break”: Smoke candles were burned at the birthday party of a LASK fan club, which began with an impressive choreography at kick-off. The smoke robbed the video referee of his vision. When the game resumed, there was the equalizer to celebrate: Substitute Smolcic scored with a header from a Zulj corner – 1-1 (59th).
“}”>
Image: APA/EXPA/REINHARD EISENBAUER
Source: Nachrichten
