In the penalty shootout
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Austria failed to reach the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The Viennese side bowed out in front of 8,555 fans at the Verteilerkreis on Wednesday after losing 4-5 on penalties to Finnish Cup winners Ilves Tampere. The score was 3:2 after 90 minutes and 4:3 after 120 minutes. The first leg had ended 2:1 for Ilves. Dominik Fitz missed the only penalty.
Goals from Maurice Malone (22'), Andreas Gruber (27'), Abubakr Barry (68') and Nik Prelec (97') were not enough for Austria. Ilves managed to come back several times thanks to Lauri Ala-Myllymäki (30), Aapo Mäenpää (89) and Marius Söderböck.
Before the first home match under coach Stephan Helm, returnee Aleksandar Dragovic was greeted frenetically by the Austria supporters at Viola Park, after which the center-back, who was not yet eligible to play, joined in the excitement in the stands. Helm made one change from the first leg in Finland, with Gruber starting up front instead of Muharem Huskovic.
The visitors were more dangerous at first. After just twelve seconds, a header from the free-standing Santeri Haarala landed in the arms of Samuel Sahin-Radlinger, and in the 19th minute the goalkeeper was on hand to save a low shot from Haarala. Austria took the lead with their first chance. Marvin Potzmann hit a long pass to Matteo Perez Vinlöf, who had come on as a sixth-minute substitute for the thigh-injured Hakim Guenouche, and Malone thundered the ball under the crossbar.
No VAR - Austria celebrate
The Finns complained in vain that the ball was already out of play when Perez Vinlöf crossed. The TV pictures did not really shed any light on this, as VAR is only used in the Conference League from the play-off onwards. Joona Veteli missed the best chance to equalize in the 25th minute, his shot from a good position flew over the goal. Austria were again more efficient: Malone powered his way through on the left and set up Gruber with a measured cross, who finished with a header from close range.
Despite the relatively quick 2:0 lead, the Violets' play remained error-prone, especially in defense. The logical consequence was Ilves' follow-up goal: Sahin-Radlinger only just managed to fend off a shot from Haarala and Ala-Myllymäki dusted it off. The Finns came close to equalizing in the 36th minute when Radlinger parried a shot from Haarala to the near corner.
3:1 for Austria
The match remained evenly poised after the break, but real chances were in short supply for the time being. Austria showed their mettle with a shot from Manfred Fischer next to the goal (62') before Barry made it 3:1. The 24-year-old from Gambia was ideally played free by Gruber and scored in the style of a goalgetter. In this scene, the absence of VAR once again paid off for the "Violets", as Prelec, who had been substituted shortly beforehand, probably committed a foul with his leg outstretched and sole up in the build-up to the goal.
Dominik Fitz almost added to his tally in the 70th minute, but Ilves keeper Ville Seppä had problems with his shot. At the other end, Roope Riski headed over the crossbar (72'). In the closing stages, the Finns tried hard to force a second goal and thus extra time. In the 88th minute, Reinhold Ranftl saved a deflected shot from Doni Arifi on the goal line with his head, but Ilves were able to celebrate a minute later. Luca Pazourek missed a cross to Vincent Ulundu and Mäenpää was allowed to shoot in from close range. Shortly before the end of normal time, Fortuna came to Austria's rescue once again - Riski's goal was disallowed for offside.
"Lucky punch"
Prelec provided the supposed "lucky punch" in extra time. After a cross from Fitz and an unintentional header from Juhani Pikkarainen, the striker headed in. However, Austria's patchy defense allowed their opponents to open up. Haarala was able to cross unchallenged in the penalty area and Söderbäck's volley sank into the net, unstoppable for Sahin-Radlinger.
In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Otso Virtanen was in goal for the Finns, replacing Ville Seppä, who had retired with a muscle injury shortly before the end of extra time. Virtanen saved Fitz's penalty, after all nine shooters had scored.
"Hard to accept"
Austria coach Stephan Helm: "If you actually lead the whole game and concede the goal twice just before it's over - then it's difficult to accept purely in terms of the result. You have to look at what you can do better. There are already a few issues. The game had different phases. We took a 2-0 lead, then became far too passive in the first half. We changed things in the second half and got a better grip on things. Towards the end, we thought we were further ahead. You have to defend more aggressively. We should have had more rest periods with the ball. We're still nowhere near where we'd like to be. We simply conceded too many goals in the two games. There are still a lot of things we need to work on. It's an ongoing process. But it's very bitter now."
Conference League, 2nd qualifying round, second leg:
FK Austria Vienna - Ilves Tampere 4:5 on penalties, 4:3 after extra time (3:2, 2:1).
Vienna, Viola Park
8,555 spectators
Referee McNabb (NIR)
First leg: 1:2.
Goals:
1:0 (22.) Malone
2:0 (27') Gruber
2:1 (30) Ala-Myllymäki
3:1 (68) Barry
3:2 (89) Mäenpää
4:2 (97) Prelec
4:3 (112) Söderbäck
Austria: Sahin-Radlinger - Potzmann (61. Pazourek), Martins (80. Meisl), Galvao - Ranftl, Barry, Fischer, Guenouche (6. Perez Vinlöf) - Fitz - Gruber (80. Huskovic), Malone (62. Prelec)
Ilves: Seppä - Mäenpää, Miettunen, Pikkarainen, Jorginho (78. Ulundu) - Arifi, Popovitch - Jukkola (78. Söderbäck), Ala-Myllymäki (57. Riski), Veteli - Haarala
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