LASK had a good portion of luck at the opening of the new Raiffeisen Arena in Linz. The Upper Austrians won 1-0 once morest Austria Lustenau at the start of the 19th round of the Bundesliga on Friday evening thanks to a last-minute goal by Marin Ljubicic (94th). The Vorarlbergers were rightly angry followingwards, as the penalty whistle following a duel between Florian Flecker and Lustenaus Cem Türkmen was extremely controversial.
Flecker slipped in the penalty area in heavy rain and was then hit by Türkmen. Video assistant referee Christian-Petru Ciochirca, like referee Harald Lechner, apparently saw things differently. The 12,000 spectators in the new arena on the Gugl, which can accommodate 19,080 fans, had seen a strong Linz team just fifteen minutes before the break. Otherwise, the appendix was offered little of note.
Nevertheless, following the first win in the second duel of the season following the 1-1 draw in Vorarlberg, Linzer moved up to five points behind the second Sturm Graz and already have a place in the master group. The Lustenauer are still eighth and suffered a setback in the fight for a top six place following the regular season.
LASK trainer Dietmar Kühbauer changed his starting eleven following the meager 1: 1 in the Upper Austria duel in Ried in six positions. Three changes had to be made because Felix Luckeneder (suspended), Maxim Talowjerow (broken cheekbone) and Robert Zulj (ill) were not able to play. On the offensive, the two loan players Moses Usor and Ibrahim Mustapha gained confidence right from the start. Philipp Wiesinger made his comeback in central defense. At Lustenau, Henri Koudossou and Nemanja Motika were new compared to the 1-0 win at home once morest Austria Vienna.
After a diverse supporting program, a very intense game developed, in which the Vorarlbergers did everything they might to not be a loving party guest. They were very compact at the back, and they provided the first, but at the same time the only dangerous moment before the break. Lukas Fridrikas clearly missed (6th). Linz found it very difficult offensively, which only changed following a little over half an hour. Then Lustenau goalie Domenik Schierl took center stage several times.
The 28-year-old fended off a Usor shot to the corner (35′). After the corner, he also made a strong save from a Ziereis header and also brilliantly destroyed Usor’s follow-up shot. Shortly before the break, the player on loan from Slavia Prague put Keito Nakamura in the middle following a quick counterattack, the Japanese player was saved from 13 yards out and failed by the Lustenau goalkeeper (44′).
The hosts mightn’t carry the momentum into the second half. The visitors were offered lean food, both teams might not put themselves in the limelight. Everyone waited in vain for top chances. The most dangerous thing was a shot by “Joker” Thomas Goiginger, who missed the goal (76th). Goiginger then also retired injured.
Everything pointed to a division of points before the referee team made a questionable decision possible for a LASK victory. Ljubicic didn’t miss the penalty opportunity, converted into the middle and scored for the tenth time this season. LASK also won the seventh Bundesliga home game in history once morest Lustenau and is unbeaten in the spring following the fourth competitive game.
