Violets on the Ground

Austria Vienna vs. LASK LIVE starting at 7 p.m.

LASK celebrates a perfect start to the season in Vienna’s Favoriten district.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Second game, second win for LASK—second game, second loss for Wiener Austria. The champions from Linz won 2-0 on Sunday evening in the second round of the Bundesliga in Vienna-Favoriten. A set-piece goal by Andres Andrade (54th minute) and a follow-up on a penalty kick by Moses Usor (83rd minute) decided the match against the Viennese, who sit at the bottom of the table with no points and no goals. 

As announced, Austria coach Stephan Helm brought in plenty of “fresh legs” to the starting lineup. Only goalkeeper Samuel Sahin-Radlinger, defenders Ibrahim Buhari and Johannes Handl, and Julian Hettwer on offense remained from the starting lineup that secured the 2-1 victory over Beitar Jerusalem. LASK coach Dietmar Kühbauer, on the other hand, stuck with the same lineup that secured a 3-0 win over GAK in the season opener in front of 12,442 spectators.

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Pace and Emotion from the Start
The two opponents engaged in a fast-paced, emotional duel in which the hosts celebrated as early as the 12th minute following a header by Ibrahim Buhari. However, because assist provider Lee Tae-seok was offside, the score remained 0–0. The Linz team dominated possession but lacked creativity on offense. Austria, for its part, lacked precision on the break—as was the case with a promising numerical advantage counterattack in the 28th minute.

  Strictly speaking, the disallowed “Veilchen” goal was to remain Austria’s only shot on goal before halftime. LASK stepped up their fruitless efforts toward the end of the first half, but all that came of it were missed shots by Sascha Horvath (39th) and Robert Ljubicic (43rd). In addition, George Bello missed a good header from close range (45’+3). Target man Samuel Adeniran, a two-goal scorer in the first round, failed to make an impact at all early on.

Andrade Rewarded LASK’s Strong Second-Half Start
The Linz side came out of the locker room with much more intensity, even though Austria striker Sanel Saljic rattled the crossbar from 18 meters (47th minute). Andrade finally rewarded the visitors’ efforts with a header in the five-meter box following a corner kick flicked on by Adeniran. However, the two-time champions were unable to pull away for a long time afterward. The Violets worked hard but continued to go unrewarded due to a lack of precision. Or they had a bit of bad luck, as in the case of the supposed equalizer by substitute Kelvin Boateng, whose shot was deflected off a LASK defender’s arm over goalkeeper Lukas Jungwirth and into the net (75th minute).

Instead, it was the favorite who had the final say. Austria captain Aleksandar Dragovic was struck on the upper arm by an Adeniran shot inside the penalty area and was shown a red card. Usor’s penalty kick was initially saved by Sahin-Radlinger, but he was on hand to tap in the rebound.

Austria Vienna – LASK 0–2 (0–0)
Vienna, Generali Arena, 12,442, Referee Talic

Goals: 0–1 (54') Andrade
0:2 (83.) Usor (penalty rebound)

Austria: Sahin-Radlinger – Handl (91. Nnodim), Dragovic, Buhari – Ranftl, Lee K., Wustinger (73. Fischer), Lee T. – Hettwer (64' Markovic), Saljic (74' Deshishku) – Eggestein (46' Boateng)

LASK: Jungwirth – Mbuyamba, Tornich (89. Freckleton), Andrade (89. Verhaeghe) – Jörgensen, R. Ljubicic (61' Bogarde), Horvath, Bello – Danek (76' Schöpf), Adeniran, Lang (61' Usor)

Red card: Dragovic (81'/denying a goal)

Yellow cards: Helm (coach), Ranftl, Handl; Adeniran, Mbuyamba