Conference League

Austria Lays the Groundwork for Advancement in Latvia

(Bild: GEPA)

Austria Vienna has gotten off to a successful start to the new season. On Thursday, the Violets laid the groundwork for advancing to the third qualifying round of the Conference League with a 2-0 victory over FK Liepaja in Latvia. 

Florian Wustinger (31') and Moritz Wels (55') scored the goals in the second-round first leg in Jurmala. The second leg will take place next Thursday in Favoriten. Before that, Austria will kick off its Cup campaign on Sunday against Wiener Sport-Club.

(Bild: GEPA)

  Austria coach Stephan Helm, as he did in the final preseason friendly against Paksi of Hungary (4-1), deployed two new signings—Ibrahim Buhari and Jonas Feddersen—in the three-man defensive line. At the heart of the defense, Aleksandar Dragovic—the team’s defensive leader who had recently been sidelined with an injury—replaced Lee Kang-hee at halftime. Lee Kang-hee’s South Korean compatriot, Lee Tae-seok, had only joined the team this week following the World Cup and had not yet seen action in the Baltics.

(Bild: GEPA)

  The Viennese struggled on the rain-soaked field in Jurmala—Liepaja had to relocate to the seaside resort on the Baltic Sea, some 200 km away, because the turf at their own stadium had been rendered unplayable by a rock concert—especially in the early stages. The fifth-place team in the Latvian year-round league posed a threat several times in front of 1,000 spectators—including 200 vocal Austrian fans—thanks to striker Ede Oloko.

Wustinger’s spectacular goal
On Austria’s first chance, captain Manfred Fischer headed the ball just wide of the crossbar following a corner kick (11th minute). After half an hour, Johannes Eggestein sent a free kick from a central position into the penalty area. There, Fischer headed it back to Wustinger, who finished with a spectacular shot on the turn. For the 23-year-old homegrown player—who has overcome three cruciate ligament tears and only made his comeback in April after a one-and-a-half-year injury layoff—it was his first goal for the Violets’ first team.

  Eggestein fired just wide of the far post (44'), and substitute Wels did the same after the break (50'). Five minutes later, the player returning from his loan at WSG Tirol struck. Eggestein had headed the ball to him following a cross from Vasilije Markovic, and Wels scored on his second attempt.

(Bild: GEPA)

Austria Stronger After the Break
Austria became increasingly dominant as the second half progressed. The victory could have been by a wider margin. However, substitute striker Julian Hettwer blocked an attempt by Matteo Schablas instead of stepping aside to give his teammate a clear shot at the nearly empty net (74'). In the closing minutes, youngster Valentin Toifl, making his competitive debut, saved the Violets from conceding a goal by clearing the ball off the line (89').

This puts them in a very strong position heading into the second leg. In the third qualifying round, the Viennese would face the winner of the match between AEK Larnaca and Beitar Jerusalem. To advance to the group stage of the Conference League, they would then have to get through one more playoff round.

FK Liepaja – FK Austria Vienna 0–2 (0–1)
Jurmala, Sloka Stadium, 1,000 spectators, Referee Jonasson (ISL)
Second leg next Thursday (July 30, 8:30 p.m.)
Winner advances to the third qualifying round to face either AEK Larnaca or Beitar Jerusalem

Goals: 
0–1 (31') Wustinger
0–2 (55') Wels

Liepaja: Oss – Sorokins (68' Korobenko), Isajevs, Korotkovs, Straalman – Ekou (68' Patijcuks), Strumia – Ogunniyi (75' Leite), Leidsman (86. Untulis), Haidara – Oloko

Austria: Sahin-Radlinger – Buhari (83' Toifl), Lee K. (46' Dragovic), Feddersen – Ranftl, Wustinger, Fischer, Schablas – Markovic (60' Hettwer), Eggestein (72' Maybach), Saljic (46' Wels)

Yellow cards: Haidara , Isajevs, and Saljic