Relegation: SV Ried in the valley of tears and looking for the president

After only four wins in 31 rounds, SV Ried has to be relegated from the Bundesliga for the third time and is also looking for a new president. Roland Daxl will not join the transition to the second division and “with a heavy heart hand over a debt-free club to a successor,” he said on Saturday. In Altach, on the other hand, there was great joy after staying up.

“Multiple Failure”

The Rieder gambled away their last chance with a 2-0 defeat in Hartberg. Empty and bitter disappointment prevailed in the ‘Vikings’ team and among their fans. “It’s all difficult to put into words. A lot of things came together in Ried, but you can’t call it bad luck. We have the fewest points and in the end it wouldn’t deserve to stay up there,” admitted Markus Lackner self critical.

“Relegation is the worst thing that can happen in a team sport,” said the coach Maximilian Senft after the failed mission relegation. The 33-year-old took over from Christian Heinle at the beginning of March, but only won once in twelve games. In the qualifying group, Rieder are without a win and are by far the worst team with five points from nine games. “When it comes to relegation, the failure is multi-layered, but without a doubt we scored too few goals,” Senft found a reason for the missed goal.

Will Senft stay in Ried?

Nevertheless, the Viennese could remain in sporting responsibility. “We had good talks and I feel very comfortable in Ried,” said Senft about his future. So while the coach wants to stay, the president and chief financial officer will say goodbye. Daxl announced his resignation immediately after the descent. “I experienced the strength you need to be able to succeed in the second division, which I don’t think I can muster,” said the entrepreneur. After the last descent to date, Ried took three years to get back up, a grueling time that Daxl does not want to go through again.

Daxl has played a key role in leading the club in various functions for years. He is president and chief financial officer, was vice president and managing director after being relegated in 2017 until being promoted in the summer of 2020. In October 2021, he took over the post of President that had been vacant for a long time, which he will now be relinquishing. To what extent the team will also have a different face will become apparent in the next few weeks.

Breathe a sigh of relief at the SCR

On the other hand, there was a big sigh of relief in Altach at the SCR, which secured relegation one lap before the end of the season. Hartberg’s marksmanship and the 1-1 draw against Lustenau in the Ländle derby created a party atmosphere in the sold-out Cashpoint Arena. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to have reached our goal. It’s been really tough weeks and months, now a really big chunk of heart is falling from our hearts,” admitted coach Klaus Schmidt.

The 55-year-old, brought in after Miroslav Klose’s dismissal, once again underlined his reputation as a firefighter coach for tricky situations. After the match, Schmidt received a helmet as a thank you from the Altach volunteer fire department. “It’s a nice symbol. Of course it makes me proud that people recognize it. It wasn’t always easy, but we got over it,” said the coach on “Sky”.

There was also a lot of praise for Schmidt from the team. “It’s just fantastic what kind of work he did,” explained leading player Lukas Jäger. However, it is unclear whether this will now be rewarded with a contract extension. “Now we’ll see. We’ll let it sink in, this week we’re happy for once,” said the coach, whose contract only runs until the end of the season. There is no trend yet, explained Schmidt.

The negative Ländle record with three defeats and a draw against newly promoted Lustenau didn’t matter to the Rheindörflers on Saturday. “The derby interests me today in the blink of an eye. We held the class, that’s what matters. I’m aware that the derby record can be improved,” said Jäger.