The prediction that the Lower Austrians would not be a stumbling block was confirmed relatively quickly. When Fabian Wohlmuth scored the 2-0 goal with a wonderful free kick after 36 minutes, opponents Horn had not yet come close to the Innviertel goal even once.
The only thing more beautiful than this goal was the choreography that the Ried fans had put together on the west stand in memory of the cup winners’ captain Goran Stanisavljevic, who died in May and to whom a minute’s silence was also dedicated. New signing Saliou Sane scored the 1-0 goal after just 15 minutes, meaning the fans didn’t have to wait as long as they did during the 1-0 win against Stripfing the previous week. Niki Havenaar (91′) and Philipp Pomer (95′) even turned the complete success into a landslide victory.
Even though he will remain with SV Ried, yesterday’s game was also marked by the retirement of Rudi Zauner, who has resigned from his position as team manager. For decades he accompanied the team to every away game to handle all organizational tasks from hotel reservations to filling out the match report. Together with his family, the 72-year-old has decided to take a step back in the future. “But of course I will remain with the team as a fan and contact person.” He has been associated with SV Ried for more than 30 years. It all started like this in the early 1990s: The Innviertel team were looking for a coach for the U18s. The manager at the time, Stefan Reiter, had received a tip that Zauner was the ideal man for the job. “I watched him train at his club at the time and was impressed. After that he sat down with me – we didn’t know each other yet – and he thought I was a father watching his son.” The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up. This developed into a one-two that lasted for decades.
