Austria Vienna after 5-0 against Lustenau in the European Cup

With a thumping victory, Wiener Austria secured the last European Cup ticket in the Bundesliga. The “Veilchen” won the second leg in the final of the European Cup play-off against Austria Lustenau after a long majority in a sovereign manner 5-0 (1-0). The first leg in the Ländle ended 1-1. Coach Michael Wimmer’s team will thus start in the second round of the Conference League qualification at the end of July.

Coach Markus Mader’s Lustenauer, on the other hand, missed the crowning glory of a remarkable season of promotion. Defender Jean Hugonet saw the red card after just 17 minutes and the Wimmer-Elf took advantage of their superiority in terms of personnel. Manfred Fischer scored twice (19′, 46′), goalscorer Haris Tabakovic crowned an outstanding spring with his 18th goal of the season after 61 minutes. The two “jokers” Dominik Fitz after a solo (84th) and Andreas Gruber (86th) scored the final score.

Wimmer at least caused a small surprise with his starting line-up in the decider. The top performers Matthias Braunöder, Gruber and the recently recovered Fitz were initially on the bench. Compared to the first leg, Nikola Dovedan and Aleksandar Jukic got their chance from the start. Anderson was in the starting XI for the Lustenau team.

Red after VAR check

Shortly before kick-off, the fans from Vorarlberg donated green fog to the 12,084 spectators in the arena, and then the final showdown in the Vienna favorites began. The first few minutes belonged to Wiener Austria, who combined nicely and found significantly more possession of the ball. Two scooters from James Holland (4th) and Fischer (12th) provided only a moderate goal threat. In a phase in which the Lustenau found the game better, the Mader-Elf got themselves into trouble.

When attempting to clear, Hugonet, who was possibly the last man on the edge of his own penalty area, missed the rushing Dovedan and hit him in the face with his shoe. Referee Manuel Schüttengruber first issued a yellow card, but after intervention by VAR Alexander Harkam and viewing the video images, the team was sent off. Frenchman Hugonet, who will switch to the second German division after Magdeburg in the summer, crept off the pitch with his shirt pulled over his face. Dovedan curled the due free kick in the direction of the right corner of the cross, Lustenau goalie Domenik Schierl saved spectacularly with the help of the pole, and Fischer pushed the rebound over the line.

With that, everything was set for a purple day of celebration. The fact that this was not fixed in the first half was due to Schierl and their own exploitation of chances. First Haris Tabakovic failed after a cushioned Stangl pass from five yards out at Schierl (25′), then Dovedan allowed the ball to be taken from him in front of the empty goal after a nice combination through Tabakovic and the strong Fischer (40′). Schierl also defused a well-placed Jukic shot (43′).

The Lustenau team fought with a man down using all possible means and Yadaly Diaby had the only chance in the first half. Austria goalie Christian Früchtl intervened to save with a dive (37′). After the change of sides, it took only 61 seconds for Fischer to block a Tabakovic cross with a powerful shot in the goal for the preliminary decision. After that, the Wimmer-Elf controlled the ball and opponents. It was Tabakovic who was sent down by Dovedan after an hour and made everything crystal clear.

Schalke loanee Reinhold Ranftl received a special round of applause from the purple fans after being substituted in the closing stages. Shortly thereafter, Fitz nibbled Darijo Grujcic with three hooks and hit the near corner. And Gruber even made the Austria fans cheer for a fifth time.

Bundesliga, European Cup play-off final, second leg:

FK Austria Wien – SC Austria Lustenau Final score 5:0 (1:0).

Vienna, Generali Arena, 12,084 spectators, SR Schüttengruber. First leg: 1:1

Gates:
1: 0 (19th) Fischer
2: 0 (47th) Fischer
3: 0 (61st) Tabakovic
4: 0 (84th) Fitz
5: 0 (86th) Gruber

Austria: Früchtl – Mühl, Martins, Meisl – Ranftl, Holland, Jukic (67th Fitz), Polster (67th Baltaxa) – Fischer (74th Braunöder), Dovedan (74th Gruber) – Tabakovic

Lustenau: Schierl – Maak (78th Türkmen), Hugonet, Grujcic – Anderson, Tiefenbach (57th Adriel), Grabher, Berger (57th Gmeiner) – Surdanovic (68th Rhein) – Fridrikas, Diaby (69th Motika)

Yellow cards: Martins, Braunöder or Fridrikas, Adriel, Türkmen

Red card: Hugonet (17’/foul)