Salzburg can hope

LIVE from 5pm: LASK must face Sturm Graz

Sturm Graz were held to a 2-2 draw by LASK.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Sturm Graz' championship jerseys remain (still) unworn. The Styrians were held to a 2-2 draw by LASK on Sunday. As Red Bull Salzburg managed to beat Hartberg in the parallel match, the title will not be decided until next week.

The leaders of the Bundesliga only managed a 2-2 (1-1) draw at LASK, reducing their lead over Salzburg to two points. The decision in the title duel will therefore be made in the final round next Sunday. Sturm will then host Klagenfurt Austria in Graz and still hold all the cards to be crowned champions for the first time since 2011.

In Linz, only a draw was possible for the cup winners. After Florian Flecker (20') had put the Upper Austrians ahead, Otar Kiteishvili (30') took advantage of a mistake by the LASK backline to equalize. The in-form Georgian added his ninth goal of the season shortly after the break (48'). Christian Ilzer's team seemed to be on course for the title before Marin Ljubicic (77') scored a foul penalty to secure a deserved draw for Linz. Sturm hit the crossbar in the final.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

LASK had won four out of five games under interim coach Thomas Darazs before kick-off, so the task for Sturm was a big one. "SK Sturm will be the new champions" was nevertheless proclaimed on a banner by the Graz fans before kick-off. Ilzer had to do without two key players: Jon Gorenc Stankovic was suspended and David Affengruber was plagued by muscular problems. Niklas Geyrhofer started in central defensive midfield, David Schnegg in the back four. LASK were without the suspended Sascha Horvath, with Maksym Talowjerow taking his place in midfield.

The 18,500 spectators saw little flow on both sides and plenty of tackles. Both teams were careful not to concede anything and did not make any mistakes at first. Sturm made their first dangerous appearance in the opposition penalty area, with William Böving failing to beat LASK keeper Tobias Lawal after a turbulent scene (13'). The individual class of two attacking players then gave Linz the lead.

Risking too much
Moses Usor tricked Alexander Prass and Schnegg on the touchline and set up Adil Taoui, who in turn allowed Dimitri Lavalee to drive into space and set up Flecker in an exemplary manner. Shortly afterwards, the goalscorer was almost on the ball again with Taoui's next pass. However, the Linz backline risked too much in the middle of the high phase and gave Graz the equalizer.

Sturm once again disrupted the build-up play early on with high pressing, Lawal's short pass to Talowjerow was the worst possible move. Kiteishvili won the leather from the Ukrainian and completed the move in conjunction with Mika Biereth. This had an effect on LASK, but the home side still had one chance. Philipp Ziereis was completely free to head home from a corner kick, but missed the target by a wide margin (34').

It wasn't long after the break before the Graz fans were able to cheer again. Kiteishvili was again the decisive man, the playmaker scoring with technical finesse from the edge of the box. Tomi Horvat had previously stolen the ball from George Bello on the verge of foul play, thus initiating Sturm's attack.

Penalty spoiled Graz's mood
LASK looked for an answer and threw more and more energy forward. Filip Stojkovic shot just wide before Sturm keeper Vitezslav Jaros turned a Ziereis header over the bar (72'). Graz, who were becoming increasingly passive, finally conceded 2:2. Lavalee hit Ljubicic on the shin in the penalty area and the fouled player converted the penalty himself to score his eighth goal in the Champions League. Ilzer reacted with a triple substitution, which almost led to success: "Joker" Seedy Jatta rose high in the 89th minute after a corner kick, but only hit the underside of the crossbar.