A nine-point lead becomes four – with today’s 0-2 defeat in the last game of the regular season in the Bundesliga at bottom club Austria Lustenau, the worst possible scenario has occurred for FC Blau-Weiß Linz before the start of the qualifying group next weekend .
Now the points are shared – and the big tremors begin for coach Gerald Scheiblehner’s team. After the final whistle he was still cool: “We stay calm, we knew from the start that we would have to fight until the end. We have to get our heads back up quickly and believe in staying in the league.”
His team might have made the starting position much more comfortable yesterday. The Royal Blues missed numerous top chances, especially in the first half. Blue and White striker Ronivaldo had the first really good opportunity: his Brazilian compatriot Joao Luiz had brought a cross into the danger area that Lustenau keeper Domenik Schierl mightn’t clear perfectly – but the 35-year-old mightn’t get the header in accommodate an empty goal (14th).
It wasn’t Linz’s only huge opportunity: in the 22nd minute, Marco Krainz failed from distance, and Simon Seidl then missed from a tight angle. The 21-year-old from Salzburg was even closer in the 32nd minute: Seidl missed from eleven meters following a back pass from Lustenau defense chief Matthias Maak.
Schmid doesn’t have a chance when conceding a goal
Lustenau only had half chances in the first half, but did much better in the second half: Anderson scored with a header following a corner (60′) – although BW goalie Nicolas Schmid also looked unhappy.
However, his counterpart, Lustenau goalkeeper Schierl, prevented the equalizer: he made a strong save from Seidl’s header (80′). In the finish, Joker Leo Mikic (92nd) made it 0-2 in a counterattack. “We played a strong first half and should have gone into the break with a lead. In the second half we deprived ourselves of the fruits of our labor,” summed up BW coach Scheiblehner, whose team can take revenge on Saturday: The Linzers start their mission to stay in the league with a home game once morest yesterday’s opponents.
Author
Raphael Watzinger
Sports editor
Raphael Watzinger
