Victory in sight

It all starts for Austria Lustenau against Linz

Andy Heraf still wants to collect points against Linz.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

With a win, Andy Heraf and his team would drag today's opponents from the steel city into the relegation battle. That's why BW Linz are also struggling to share the points.

Three (with a defeat), four (with a draw) or five points (with a win). This question will be decided today for Lustenau in Bregenz. And could be of immense importance for the further course of the relegation play-off. So it's no wonder that coach Andreas Heraf is unequivocal about the fact that things will really get going for his team against BW Linz.

The facts are clear: Austria's chances of staying in the league only seem real thanks to the points split. "Who knows whether the club would have invested in me and in new players in the winter if they didn't exist," says Heraf. He now sees it as all the more important for his team to live up to the praise they have received. The fact is: one way or another, Lustenau is the team with the worst points haul so far after the basic round of qualifying. Austria thus take over from Altach, who "only" managed 13 points two years ago and went into the relegation battle with six points.

Is sharing points unfair?
In the worst-case scenario, Austria will go into the play-offs five points behind after sharing the points; in the best-case scenario, only two points behind. That is, if they win today and WSG Tirol lose at Austria Wien. And in such a case, BW Linz would also be involved in the relegation battle again. That's why coach Gerald Scheiblehner also has a gripe with the points split. "It's unfair and has to go. Because there's too much at stake - for the relegated team it's often a matter of survival."

From Scheiblehner's point of view, these words are understandable. After all, Lustenau also struggled with the points split last year after a strong basic round. But a change is not possible until the 2025/26 season at the earliest anyway.