2nd Division – Matchday 24

Austria Lustenau stumbles against the Young Violets!

Two Austrias face off, but only one can win…(Bild: GEPA)

SC Austria Lustenau has suffered a major setback in the 2nd League title race!

The Vorarlberg side suffered a 1-3 (0-2) defeat at the hands of the Young Violets on Easter Monday. The Young Austrians were already leading 2-0 after less than ten minutes. Hertha Wels and Austria Salzburg played to a 1-1 (0-1) draw. Amstetten celebrated a 1-0 (0-0) win at FC Liefering, while Rapid II won 2-0 (2-0) in Kapfenberg. Vienna won 1-0 at FAC, and at the bottom of the table, Sturm II triumphed 3-1 at Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz.

Early Goals for Lustenau
 Lustenauand the Young Violets—two teams in strong form based on recent results—faced off. In Vienna-Favoriten, the Violets quickly capitalized on their opponents’ lapses in concentration. A deflected shot by Hasan Deshishku found its way into the Lustenau goal after just half a minute. Then Romeo Mörth stole the ball from opponent Robin Voisine, and captain Philipp Hosiner finished the play (9th minute).

The Austrians, currently sixth in the standings and featuring future Liverpool pro Ifeanyi Ndukwe at center back, defended resolutely from then on. The visitors, who were playing poorly, were unable to mount a comeback. On the counterattack, Deshishku set up Mörth, who scored through the legs of Domenik Schierl to make it 3-0 (62'). Lustenau pulled one back with a long-range goal by Haris Ismailcebioglu (80'), but finished the match with only ten men after a red card for Seydou Diarra (86').

Wels scores late equalizer
Austria Salzburg held out hope for three points in Wels for a long time. Marinko Sorda scored with a powerful shot from the edge of the box (23'). Marek Svec’s supposed equalizer was disallowed for offside (70'), before Nicolas Keckeisen finally leveled the score with a header off a free kick in the 90th minute. For Rapid II, Lorenz Szladits (7th) and Moulaye Haidara (34th) scored the goals in the first half.

Liefering and Amstetten were evenly matched. Yanis Eisschill (63rd) ended the Lower Austrians’ four-game winless streak with his goal. In Vienna-Floridsdorf, the visitors from Vienna took the lead in the 11th minute thanks to a coolly converted penalty kick by Marco Gantschnig. Vienna then controlled the mini-derby, and in the closing stages, Floridsdorf’s Marcus Maier was shown a yellow-red card (73rd min.). In the final play of the game, FAC goalkeeper Juri Kirchmayr had the best chance to equalize with a header, but was denied by Bernhard Unger (96th min.).