At the start of the qualifying group, FC Blau-Weiß Linz met SC Austria Lustenau at home on the 23rd matchday of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga and after the 2-1 defeat against Vorarlberger on the last matchday, our boys definitely wanted to fight back with their own fans behind them.
On the field, our team was a bit overweight at the start, and they obviously had some room to make up. Lustenau’s defense was put under pressure with good pressing. We found the best opportunity in the early stages with a header from Strauss after one of the many dead balls. Referee Walter Altmann had a lot of work to do later on. Always fouls and interruptions. There was a lot at stake and after a quarter of an hour Vorarlberg also had some good opportunities. First Grujcic failed from a free kick to Nici Schmid and a little later Bobzien failed after a powerful finish. Lustenau was fully involved in the game and took command after 20 minutes.
But Linz showed a lot of morale and quickly got back into the game with around 4,300 fans behind them and had a real TOP chance through Gölles towards the end of the first half. Lustenau keeper Schierl prevented the game from going behind with a great save. A little later it was goalless in the locker room.
There was also high intensity on both sides at the start of the second half. Although there were few football aesthetes there, it went back and forth and the guests almost took the lead in the 63rd minute. But Schmid was just able to clear against Chato from close range.
A real battle of attrition in the Hofmann Personal Stadium, in which both teams acted very cautiously defensively – too much was at stake. In the final phase, the Lustenauers cemented themselves deep in their own half and left the field to the Linzers, but they didn’t have enough penetration in the final third. In the 88th minute, the Stahlstadters had another great opportunity, but Strauss’s header from close range went just wide of the goal.
In the end both teams meet goalless! Our team, which has been waiting for a win for nine match days, will continue next week against Austria Vienna.