Bundesliga
LIVE: GAK steps up against Ried
GAK has earned important points in the Bundesliga relegation battle and dealt a severe blow to Ried's championship dreams.
In the penultimate round of the regular season, the Graz team celebrated a 2-1 (2-0) home win against the Innviertler and picked up three points again after five games without a win. This puts them six points ahead of bottom-placed Blau-Weiß Linz. Ried remain without a league win in 2026 and slipped back to eighth place.
Alexander Hofleitner (7th) and Ramiz Harakate (26th) put the Styrians on the road to victory early on. Even an own goal by Lukas Graf (92nd) and a red card for Mark Grosse (93rd) could not prevent GAK's fourth win of the season, who will travel to WSG in Tyrol next Sunday for the final game of the regular season. Ried are two points behind the top six and Rapid and now need help from other teams. First, however, SVR have the Upper Austrian Cup semi-final clash against LASK in the Innviertel on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.), followed four days later by a home league game against Wiener Austria.
Efficient Graz, staid Ried
GAK coach Ferdinand Feldhofer was without regulars Murat Satin, Tobias Koch, and Daniel Maderner due to injury. Ried coach Maximilian Senft had to do without his suspended goal scorer Kingstone Mutandwa, who was replaced by Sturm Graz loanee Peter Kiedl. The game began with an interruption due to pyrotechnics. When referee Markus Hameter restarted the game with a GAK free kick, the hosts were already leading 1-0. Hofleitner was on hand to head in a cross from Thorsten Schriebl, both players having slipped into the starting line-up due to injuries.
The game was evenly matched after that, but while the visitors were lackluster in attack, the "Red Devils" struck again. Harakate marched through the SVR defense and finished the attack with a precise shot into the bottom corner. Leon Klassen missed the chance to make it 3-0, failing to get past Andreas Leitner, the SVR goalkeeper (38'). In the second half, GAK sought to seal the deal, but Jacob Italiano narrowly missed (62').
Drama in the final stages
This led to a frantic final phase. Ried scored a consolation goal in stoppage time through Graz's Graf, who deflected a shot from Ante Bajic unstoppably. Immediately afterwards, GAK's "super sub" Grosse was sent off against his former club after fouling Christopher Wernitznig roughly from behind. Hofleitner missed the chance to make it 3-1 at the end.
Grazer AK – SV Ried 2-1 (2-0)
Graz, Merkur Arena, 5,467 spectators, referee Hameter.
Goals:
1-0 (7.) Hofleitner
2-0 (26') Harakate
2:1 (92.) Graf (own goal)
GAK: Stolz – Owusu, Pines, Vraa – Italiano (89. Graf), Schriebl, Olesen, Lichtenberger (71. Grosse), Klassen – Hofleitner, Harakate (81. Frieser)
Ried: Leitner – Havenaar, Sollbauer, Steurer – Bajic, Maart (65. Rasner), Mayer (46. Nasrawe), Pomer (78. Boguo) – Bajlicz (65. Wernitznig) – Kiedl, Van Wyk (77. Sane)
Red card: Grosse (93./foul)
Yellow cards: Schriebl , Hofleitner, Owusu, Italiano, Stolz and Pomer, Sollbauer, Wernitznig
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