The warm-up was over before kick-off at 28 degrees Celsius in the Raiffeisen Arena – both teams showed that when referee Alexander Harkam opened the match. LASK won the ball in the press and Sascha Horvath’s shot was blocked in the sixteen-yard box, the Salzburg counterattack ended with a bad pass in the other penalty area, Moses Usor’s cross-ball went wrong, so that Salzburg goalkeeper Janis Blaswich cleared for a corner – all of this happened in the first minute.
The game continued at a sprint pace. LASK found good solutions to Salzburg’s pressing, but the follow-up moves forward were not successful. When the athletes were able to combine in the dangerous zone, Salzburg did not allow a shot on goal, and in the end Marin Ljubicic’s attempt went wide (15′).
For the visitors, Adam Daghim hit the side netting (16th minute), while Petar Ratkov’s header sailed past the goal (20th minute). Salzburg spared LASK three times when hair-raising bad passes occurred during play: Branko Jovicic gave away two balls, and Hrvoje Smolcic gave away one.
Top chance from Zulj
For several minutes, LASK only reacted to the waves of attack from Salzburg, but then created a great chance: Robert Zulj did not catch George Bello’s cross perfectly and Blaswich turned the ball over the bar (28′). The action was an encouragement for the athletes. They kept the game open after that.
During the break, coach Thomas Darazs was practically forced to make a change: Jovicic was on the verge of receiving a second warning after a yellow card and seemed overwhelmed. Maxym Talowjerow came on for him, playing for Ukraine for the first time after playing at the European Championships and the Olympic Games.
The intensity remained the same. LASK was unable to capitalize on their numerical superiority on the counterattack because Sascha Horvath’s final pass was too short (52′). Horvath’s shot, however, was so sharp that Blaswich could not control it (58′), and his cross was cleared in the second wave.
Salzburg Jokers stung
Salzburg coach Pep Lijnders brought in fresh forces after an hour, two jokers stood out: During a counterattack, Melayro Bogarde received a Salzburg cross in the box, substitute Oscar Gloukh came out from behind him and won the ball, the cross pass was converted by Moussa Yeo – 1:0 (64th).
The video referee checked Bogarde’s loss of the ball, but did not see a foul. It was an effective goal. Salzburg’s third new signing Mads Bistrup had the chance to make it 2-0 four minutes later, but goalkeeper Tobias Lawal thwarted it.
Jerome Boateng came on immediately after Ljubicic missed the equalizer. The 35-year-old German was greeted with applause from the crowd on his debut, with a few whistles thrown in. Alexander Schlager, on the other hand, watched for Salzburg until the final whistle. The former LASK captain was back in action for the first time since a knee injury at the end of last season prevented him from taking part in the European Championships. During the forced break, he also lost his number one jersey: Janis Blaswich, on loan from Leipzig, also took over the captain’s armband.
LASK fought against its second home defeat in the third round of Bundesliga matches, but Salzburg was clever enough to hold on to its lead. The runners-up’s dress rehearsal for the Champions League play-off first leg against Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday was a success. LASK must draw courage from a decent performance ahead of the Europa League first leg against FCSB Bucharest on Thursday.
