Wattener rejoice

LIVE from 5pm: WSG Tirol against Blau-Weiß Linz

WSG Tirol lead against Blau-Weiß Linz.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

WSG Tirol ended the 26th round of the Austrian Bundesliga with a win. The team from Watten won 2:1 against Blau-Weiß Linz on Saturday.

WSG Tirol took a big step towards securing their place in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The team of coach Thomas Silberberger, who will leave the club in the summer, beat promoted team Blau-Weiß Linz 2:1 in the 4th round of the qualifying group, jumping to fourth place in the table and extending their lead over bottom club Austria Lustenau to eight points. The match-winner for the Tyroleans was Mahamadou Diarra with a brace (4th, 50th).

Dream start for WSG
The 20-year-old center-forward from Mali scored with his head at the start, quite unmarked, and added a remarkable goal with his heel immediately after the restart. It was the fourth unbeaten game in a row for the hosts, who have collected seven points in the last three rounds. Linz, on the other hand, are now winless in twelve games and have lost again after three recent 0-0 draws. At least Kristijan Dobras (75') scored after four games without a goal. In the league, the penultimate team is still five points off the bottom of the table.

Mahamadou Diarra scored twice.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The match could not have started better for the Tyroleans, who fielded the same starting eleven for the third time in a row. After a Taferner corner, the Linzers lost sight of Diarra in the penalty area and the attacker was able to head in powerfully. A deflected shot from the goalscorer was saved for a corner by Linz goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid (14'). Nik Prelec also posed a goal threat, but shot over (31') and was unable to get on the end of a Schulz cross (38'). The visitors were unbeatable in terms of harmlessness, making only one contact with the ball in the opposition penalty area.

At the break, Gerald Scheiblehner brought on a fresh attacking force in Conor Noß, who was more dangerous in just over a minute than the entire team had been in the previous 45 minutes. However, his shot went over. The Tyroleans, on the other hand, made the most of their first top chance in the second half. Prelec, ideally served by Taferner, took a shot in the penalty area and Diarra steered the ball over the line from close range. The Mali attacker scored twice for the first time in the Bundesliga.

A breath of fresh air in the second half
Scheiblehner continued to see a disappointing performance from his team for the time being, but brought in a breath of fresh air with five changes by the 67th minute. And with Dobras, a "joker" also provided new excitement, the midfielder was not prevented from finishing in the sixteen and scored just under the crossbar. The equalizer was then in the air, but Ronivaldo (77') and Mehmet Ibrahimi (79') failed to beat Stejskal. This was the first time that the away team did not win in the third match of the season.