European Cup Qualifiers

LIVE: Another Big Chance! Austria in the Lead

Celebrations at Wiener Austria(Bild: GEPA)

Austria Vienna fought its way into the Conference League playoffs with a dramatic penalty shootout. The “Violets” prevailed 4–2 on penalties at home against Beitar Jerusalem on Thursday evening. After 90 and then 120 minutes, the score stood at 1–2 in favor of the Israelis, who had thus evened the score following their 1–2 loss in the first leg. Their opponent in the battle for a spot in the Conference League group stage will be Sporting Braga on August 20 and 27.

Omer Atzili (33’) and Johnbosco Kalu (56’) had given the Israelis a 2–0 lead, but Kelvin Boateng scored the crucial goal to pull one back for the Viennese (58’). Both teams subsequently failed to seal the victory, which was ultimately decided from the penalty spot. There, the visitors’ nerves failed them twice, while for the hosts, only Vasilije Markovic failed to score. Sanel Saljic coolly converted the decisive penalty kick. For Austria, action continues as early as Sunday (5:00 p.m.) in the Bundesliga with an away match in Hartberg.

Helm Rotatedthe Lineup
 Coach Stephan Helmrotatedthe lineup as expected, making eight changes to his starting XI compared to Sunday’s match against LASK (0–2). However, he largely stuck with the same team that had started a week ago in the first leg against Beitar. As feared, forward Johannes Eggestein was not in the lineup due to adductor problems. For the Israelis, former WAC forward Shon Weissman remained on the bench.

Austria Coach Stephan Helm(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

In front of 7,663 spectators at Franz-Horr Stadium, Austria initially adopted a wait-and-see approach and relied on counterattacks. Julian Hettwer missed a chance to make it 1-0 after a long ball and a through pass from Moritz Wels; with a clear shot on goal, he was denied by goalie Miguel Silva (14th minute). Beitar kept trying from the second line; a deflected shot by Dagatz Worko narrowly missed the Austria goal (19th minute). The visitors gradually took control of the game; in the 32nd minute, several Beitar players had scoring opportunities, but Aleksandar Dragovic and Jonas Feddersen blocked the shots.

The “Violets” Fall Behind Again
The cold shower came in the very next play, when Atzili put the visitors ahead with a shot from 20 meters into the far corner. Austria thus found itself trailing, just as in the first leg, and began to play more aggressively, though a shot by Boateng lacked power (38th minute). After the break, Boateng once again failed to find the target from distance (53'). At the other end, however, the visitors struck for the second time: Samuel Sahin-Radlinger initially saved Atzili’s shot, but Kalu followed up and volleyed home to make it 2–0.

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

  Jerusalem now led 3–2 on aggregate, but the Austrians responded immediately: Goalkeeper Silva deflected a shot by Julian Hettwer—following a major blunder in the Beitar defense—forward, and Boateng pounced on the rebound. The match now swung back and forth; the “Violets” were lucky when Atzili hit the post (63'). A counterattack goal by Yarden Shua had no impact on the home team due to an offside call (75').

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Decided in a penalty shootout
In the closing minutes, Manfred Fischer missed the “lucky punch,” failing to connect with the ball in the penalty area (87'). Brayan Carabali missed the chance to seal the win for the Israelis with a header, but Sahin-Radlinger made a last-ditch save (92'). This led to a thirty-minute extra time, during which Beitar had the upper hand but no goals were scored. In the penalty shootout, Eugene Ansah and Markovic both hit the post. Sahin-Radlinger made a save against Timothy Muzie before Saljic sealed the victory.

FK Austria Vienna – Beitar Jerusalem 4–2 on penalty kicks, 1–2 (1–2, 0–1) after extra time.

Vienna, Franz-Horr Stadium, 7,663 spectators, Referee Lukasz Kuzma (POL).

First leg: 2–1. Aggregate score: 3–3. Austria advances and will face Sporting Braga in the playoff (match dates: August 20 and 27).

Goals: 0– 1 (33') Atzili, 0–2 (56') Kalu, 1–2 (58') Boateng

Austria: Sahin-Radlinger – Nnodim (106' Lee Kang-hee), Dragovic, Feddersen, Schablas (78' Lee Tae-seok) – Markovic, Maybach (58. Wustinger) – Fischer, Hettwer (58. Saljic), Wels (58. Ranftl) – Boateng (72. Deshihsku)

Beitar: Silva – Antwi, Carabali, Gadrani (75' Deri), Shedo (65' Elimelech) – Muche (65' Muzie), Takang, Worko (106' Ben Shimol) – Atzili (106. Ansah), Shua, Kalu (65. Yosefi)

Yellow cards: Schablas, Ranftl, Lee Tae-seok, Wustinger; Takang, Atzili, Yosefi, Antwi