Racy duel

Half-time! In Altach it’s 1:1 into the dressing rooms

Racy duels, but no winner for SCR Altach against Red Bull Salzburg ...(Bild: APA/DIETMAR STIPLOVSEK)

Red Bull Salzburg are without a win in the Bundesliga for the third time in a row! On Sunday, the rejuvenated Bulls were held to a 1:1 draw in an intense game in Altach and had to let defending champions Sturm Graz, who still have a match in hand, come within one point.

The early lead by Petar Ratkov (12') was not enough for the dominant league leaders, Paul Koller scored from a set-piece (26') to give the home side a not undeserved point. The Vorarlberg side gained ground again after their 3-1 win at WAC and extended their lead over the bottom club to eight points.

Altach left midfielder Patrick Greil on the bench after falling ill. Meanwhile, Salzburg coach Thomas Letsch made five changes to his starting eleven three days after the 4-1 defeat in Bologna, with the outfield players having an average age of 20.7 years.

Ratkov scored and missed
One of the "oldies" immediately had a great chance to take the lead. The 24-year-old Yorbe Vertessen took the ball from Benedikt Zech 40 meters in front of goal, but pushed it just past the far corner in front of goalkeeper Dejan Stojanovic (7th minute). A short time later, Frans Krätzig tested Stojanovic from an acute angle (10). It worked at the third attempt: Vertessen made a quick switch after an Altach throw-in, played a pass to Ratkov, who was still inefficient in Bologna, and the latter beat two defenders beautifully before finishing safely.

However, the Serbian failed to get a header on target in the 22nd minute when he was completely alone and Stojanovic saved. A short time later, Koller turned away jubilantly after he had also headed a corner over Schlager and into the net. The keeper had previously been the winner in a similar situation (15th). The equalizer slowed Salzburg's momentum, and the visitors were unable to get beyond Tim Trummer's (42') and Kerim Alajbegovic's (47') mishit shots until the break.

Chances, but no goal
At the start of the second half, the visitors were lucky that a Koller shot only hit the bar (53'), while substitute Edmund Baidoo missed a great chance to give Salzburg the lead again with a header (60'). He and Moussa Yeo, who was brought on at the break, revitalized Salzburg's play, but their performance was still not really compelling. Srdjan Hrstic had the match ball at his feet, but the Altach joker was denied by Schlager (80') and missed in stoppage time after a defensive blunder by Salzburg.

The result:
SCR Altach - FC Red Bull Salzburg 1:1 (1:1)
Altach, Stadion Schnabelholz, 4867 spectators, referee Ciochirca

Goals: 0:1 (12.) Ratkov, 1:1 (26.) Koller

Yellow cards: Zech or Diabate, Bidstrup

Altach: Stojanovic - Ingolitsch, Zech, Koller, Ouedraogo - Oswald (73. Demaku), Milojevic (60. Jäger), Massombo, Bähre - Mustapha (73. Hrstic), Diawara (73. Fetahu)
Salzburg: Schlager - Trummer, Gadou, Schuster, Krätzig - Alajbegovic (59. Baidoo), S. Diabate (83. Konate), Bidstrup, Bischoff (46. Yeo) - Vertessen (76. Onisiwo), Ratkov