The SPG Wels certainly imagined the start of the spring of the regional football league very differently: they wanted to put league leaders Voitsberg under pressure with a win once morest bottom-placed WAC amateurs – in the end the start went completely wrong: coach Emin Sulimani’s team lost Despite a 1-0 lead thanks to late goals conceded (86th, 93rd) 1:3.
Since the promotion rivals from Styria won 3-1 in Weiz, the lead over the team from the trade fair city was even extended to nine points. Wallern made a great start to the new year: the Trattnachtalers remain Voitsberg’s first pursuers following the 5-1 win once morest Bad Gleichenberg. The LASK amateurs celebrated a 1-0 derby win – even though Peter Michorl missed a penalty in the 13th minute. Marco Schabauer scored the golden goal for the black and whites in the 67th minute.
The young Wikinger Ried are hoping for the youngest third division coach in the relegation battle. The 29-year-old Julian Baumgartner was appointed the new head coach of the amateur team of the Innviertler second division team in the winter – in the autumn Baumgartner was still active on the pitch as captain. “I was interested in the coaching business at an early age, but now it has come a little earlier than I thought,” says the young coach, who now wants to pass on his experiences to the Rieder youngsters: “So I was in a similar situation back then “When I came from the academy into adult football. I can empathize well with the players and believe that I am the right man for the job.”
Bottom versus second to last
The Upper Austrian League starts the spring with a groundbreaking game: bottom team SPG Wels 1b hosts penultimate Pregarten. “But it’s not a game of fate. There are still 14 rounds following that. We will have to show perseverance,” says Pregarten coach Dominik Nimmervoll, who assumes that he will have to leave at least three teams behind in the fight to stay in the league.
To ensure that this is successful, Pregarten strengthened its team once more in the winter: the club brought in well-known newcomers with Tobias Pellegrini, Imran Sadriu and Oliver Peterseil. Today’s opponent from Wels also stepped up in the winter transfer window. “We have changed a few things,” says Wels coach Jürgen Schatas. His team’s biggest trump card: “Nobody expects us anymore.”
Third-from-last Bad Ischl was already in action today and lost 1:3 to Edelweiss Linz. The top teams Weißkirchen and Bad Schallerbach drew 0-0.
Author
Raphael Watzinger
Sports editor
Raphael Watzinger
