Austria Klagenfurt and Rapid Vienna split almost as planned with a 1-1 draw at the end of the regular season in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga.
The draw is enough for both teams to qualify for the championship group, regardless of the results in the other matches. Klagenfurt falls out of the top 6 in the LIVE table for a short time, but thanks to Wernitznig they can still achieve the important equalizer.
Klagenfurt finished the regular season in fourth place with 34 points, Rapid in sixth place with one point less.
Upside down world in the first half
The hosts are clearly the better team in the first round at their home Wörthersee Stadium. Rapid goalkeeper Hedl, who is eligible to play after the derby escapades, prevents his team from falling behind three times:
Former Rapidler Binder has the first chance from close range, but the goalkeeper is able to block the shot with his shoulder against the crossbar (21′). Then Auer almost scored an own goal, but Hedl reacted quickly to the unsuccessful return of the chest (29th). The 22-year-old thwarted his greatest opportunity against Wimmer after a Cvetko corner with an outstanding reaction on the line (30th).
Then, out of nowhere, the Hütteldorfers take the lead: Mayulu prevails against several opponents with a strong individual action, then leaves Gezos standing and passes into the middle, where Lang easily slides in in front of the empty goal (39th). It is the Green-Whites’ first and only goal in the first half.
Curious scenes in the final phase
Klagenfurt won the first duel of the season in October 3-2. At that time, the Carinthians secured the three points with impressive efficiency and converted three of their five offensive actions into goals.
On Sunday, Austria ultimately needed seven shots to score an important point. Rapid came out of the locker room better after the break, but failed to score a second goal.
When Hartberg equalized against Sturm Graz, Klagenfurt fell out of the championship group and had to step up their game. First, Arweiler hits the post with a header from Straudi’s cross (68′), but then Joker Wernitznig redeems the fans in the Wörthersee Stadium:
After being presented by Benatelli, who was also substitute, the veteran pushed the ball past Hedl into the goal to make the final score 1-1 (73′). Oswald delicately cancels out an offside position.
In the final minutes there are extremely strange scenes. Since both teams are satisfied with the result, there is obviously no secret about the fact that they don’t want to change anything. The teams pass the ball back and forth in their own half, and after six minutes of added time, referee Ebner has finally seen enough and blows the whistle for the game.
Great pyro scenes from Austria
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