LASK could no longer catch up, Blue-White remained 0-0

Two months after their first home win, the WAC celebrated their second in the Bundesliga and thus botched LASK’s dress rehearsal for the important European Cup match in Toulouse. With a 2:1 (2:0), the Carinthians, who were undefeated in three games, also ended Linz’s impressive series of six unbeaten league games on Saturday. Mohamed Bamba (25th) and Florian Rieder after a goalkeeper error (40th) scored for the WAC, which secured the victory over time.

Before Sunday’s games in the 9th round, the Carinthians climbed to fifth place in the table, one point behind local rivals Klagenfurt. A penalty kick scored by Thomas Goiginger (84′) wasn’t enough for LASK to win a point. The Upper Austrians remain third, three points behind the first-ever cup winner Sturm Graz. On Thursday, LASK will be visiting Toulouse on the second Europa League matchday in France.

The game got off to a pleasant start, with the lightning-quick Bamba showing off his goalscoring qualities early on with an offside goal (4th). On the other side, Robert Zulj came a step too late for a cross from Sascha Horvath, but this opened a kind of short phase of urgency in a weak first half for LASK.

After a long ball from Andres Andrade and a positional error from Scott Kennedy, Marin Ljubicic scored to give the visitors the lead (11th). However, the hit did not stand up to the VAR check; Ljubicic had presented the ball to himself with his elbow. Shortly before, George Bello had targeted goalie Hendrik Bonmann after a good combination (10th).

WAC striker Bamba took the lead out of nowhere. Augustine Boakye sent on his strike partner and the man from Cote d’Ivoire confidently scored his seventh goal in the last six competitive games. The Carinthians had previously won the decisive duels in midfield.

Double change

Manfred Schmid still went through with the previously planned double substitution. Lukas Ibertsberger replaced Kennedy in defense and Mario Leitgeb replaced Samson Tijani in midfield. From then on, his WAC had the upper hand, the Linz team followed. After starting from a suspected offside position, Boakye fooled the LASK defense and hit the bar with his shot into the far corner (36th).

A bad mistake by Tobias Lawal made it 2-0. Rieder shot from the penalty area and the goalkeeper let the durable ball slip through his arms and legs and into the net. Thomas Sageder tried to turn things around with a triple substitution at the break. Balic, Ba and Darboe replaced Havel, Bello and Jovicic. Zulj initially took center stage with a failed free kick (52′), a volley into the clouds (54′), a narrow miss (61′) and a header cleared off the line by Nikolas Veratschnig (63′).

The hosts were waiting for the counterattack and had the better opportunities thanks to their playful B&B storm. Andrade twice prevented things from getting worse with his long leg against Bamba (54th) and Boakye (57th). In the 65th minute the bar saved LASK again. Lawal could only watch idly as Boakye’s soulful shot was taken.

Veratschnig ensured a hot final phase. The youngster came too late against Andrade and consequently saw yellow-red (73′). A penalty scored by Thomas Goiginger resulted in the score being 2-1 (84th). Referee Harald Lechner had punished Jonathan Scherzer for getting in against Zulj. WAC coach Schmid had already been relegated to the stands by Lechner. In the turbulent finish, LASK threw everything forward – but the home team didn’t allow any concrete chances to score.

Blau-Weiß Linz and Austria Klagenfurt played a goalless game

A week after the 1-0 sensation against series champions Salzburg, Blau-Weiß Linz won another point in the Bundesliga. The promoted team from Upper Austria and Austria Klagenfurt played a goalless draw in the 9th round on Saturday, meaning that coach Gerald Scheiblehner’s Linz team will have to wait for their first home win in the new stadium and in the top division. For the blue-whites it was the fourth league game in a row without defeat.

Coach Peter Pacult’s Klagenfurt team, who shared the points for the fifth time this season, temporarily defended fourth place in the table. A goal by SKA striker Sinan Karweina in the 78th minute was disallowed after VAR intervention because Florian Jaritz had blocked the ball with his hand in advance.

Dangerous for the first time

It had previously taken three minutes for Andrew Irving to make his first dangerous shot after a counterattack from the edge of the penalty area, but he did not embarrass BW goalie Nicolas Schmid. In an evenly balanced opening phase in front of 4,700 spectators, both teams defended consistently. In a period of pressure from the 20th minute onwards, the Pacult team did not reward themselves with the lead. First, a pass from the eye-catching Irving failed to find a taker (20th), then Schmid used a strong reflex to defuse a volley from five meters by Kosmas Gkezos (22nd).

Shortly afterwards, Karweina called for a penalty, but he didn’t get it from referee Alan Kijas. Seconds later, the striker failed again with a shot from a tight angle past Schmid (24′). The Klagenfurt team now had significantly more possession of the ball, and there was hardly any successful offensive effort from the Linz team. Only a Ronivaldo shot just before the half-time whistle went over.

After the break, however, the blue-whites had a great chance to score the first goal. After an ideal header assist from Ronivaldo, Simon Pirkl circled around SKA goalkeeper Phillip Menzel, but Thorsten Mahrer saved at the last second with a perfect tackle (50th). Almost ten minutes later, Ronivaldo caught ex-Linzer Nicolas Wimmer in the penalty area, but the 34-year-old Brazilian’s shot clearly missed the target again (59′).

The hosts now had a lot more confidence in themselves, Conor Noß was denied by Menzel after a counterattack from a brilliant position (65′). An open exchange of blows developed with good chances on both sides. First, Mahrer headed just wide (75′), after the supposed Karweina goal (78′) after a strong Bonnah assist, Ronivaldo shot a free kick just over the goal (81′).