Kühbauer's team dominates

Kickoff! TSV Hartberg vs. LASK LIVE now

LASK celebrated their 5-1 victory over TSV Hartberg.(Bild: GEPA)

Great joy in Hartberg. LASK takes the lead in the title race with a 5-1 victory over the Styrians. Kühbauer’s team is now temporarily at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga table.

LASK coach Dietmar Kühbauer had to reshuffle his lineup following two draws against Sturm due to two suspensions, bringing in three new players to the starting lineup: Mbuyamba, George Bello, and former Hartberg player Maximilian Entrup. Mbuyamba repaid the trust placed in him with an early opening goal. The defender reacted quickest in the penalty area and scored with a turn and shot. Kalajdzic added another with a bit of luck. After an unnecessary turnover by Hartberg, the play moved quickly, and Hartberg defender Lukas Spendlhofer deflected Kalajdzic’s shot into the near corner.

Usor scores right after the restart
It was a deserved lead for Linz, who had the game firmly under control in the first half. Hartberg rarely posed a threat, and when they did, it was only through Lukas Fridrikas (10th, 25th). Coach Manfred Schmid responded at halftime with a triple substitution, but hopes for a turnaround were dashed just 15 seconds after the restart by Moses Usor’s twelfth goal of the season.

Kalajdzic scores a dream goal
Two minutes later, the Hartberg players also had reason to celebrate. Substitute Elias Havel scored his 13th goal of the season with a first-time volley on his first touch of the ball. Hartberg now showed a completely different side and created several dangerous chances in front of the Linz goal. However, they failed to score the equalizer, as Lang and Kalajdzic sealed the final score from the midfield line. After three draws in their previous season matchups, LASK secured three points and still has two chances to win its first national title in 61 years. The first opportunity comes as early as Friday in the Cup final against Altach.

Bundesliga (Round 29) – Championship Group (Round 7):

TSV Hartberg – LASK 1:5 (0:2)
Hartberg, Profertil Arena, 3,300, Referee Hameter.

Goals: 0–1 (5') Mbuyamba 0–2 (30') Kalajdzic 0–3 (46') Usor 1–3 (48') Havel 1–4 (92') Lang 1–5 (95') Kalajdzic

Hartberg: Hülsmann – Wilfinger, Spendlhofer, H. Coulibaly (46. Aziz) – Kovacevic, Heil, Kainz (76. Korherr), Markus (83. Halwachs), Pazourek (46. Henning) – Fridrikas (46. Havel), Hoffmann

LASK: Jungwirth – Mbuyamba, Cisse (88. Kebe), Andrade – Jörgensen, Bogarde (64. Coulibaly), Horvath, Bello (87. Flecker) – Usor (64. Lang), Kalajdzic, Entrup (75. Danek)

Yellow cards: Aziz, Hoffmann; Cisse, Kalajdzic