Regionalliga West

Opening derby ends with a fair points split

FC Pinzgau also failed to win their second competitive match of the season at home.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/Kronen Zeitung)

The first Salzburg derby between FC Pinzgau and St. Johann took place on the very first matchday of the Regionalliga West. The Pongau and Pinzgau teams shared the points fairly with a 1-1 draw. Saturday will be a serious day for the remaining Western League teams.

Of course we wanted a three-pointer, we were dominant and deserved to win," said Pinzgau coach Florian Klausner, summing up his Western League debut on the touchline. In which his Saalfelden team drew 1-1 with St. Johann. "Before the game, we would have taken a draw straight away, but in the end we were closer to victory," said the new Wolf tamer Andreas Scherer.

The game only picked up a little in the second half, with the home side having more of the play, but were unable to get through the strong St. Johann defense. "Defensively, we worked really well, they didn't have a single chance from play," praised Scherer. So it had to come down to a set piece: Streitwieser brought the ball into the sixteen, Moosmann extended it with his head to make it 1:0.

Exclusion changed the game
On the counter-attack, a weak back pass gave the visitors an opening and Kosakiewic said "thank you", netting to make it 1:1. After Streitwieser was shown yellow after a rude foul, the Pongau team took control for the last few minutes, but this would not change the final score. "They defended well, but we could have done better," said Klausner after the ultimately fair draw.

Champions Austria Salzburg begin their "Mission Promotion" on Saturday (17:30) with a home match against Kufstein. The season opener for the other Salzburg teams is away from home. Kuchl have to make the long journey to Lauterach for the promotion clash. "That's quite a change. In the Salzburg League we had short distances, now we're on the bus for a few hours. It won't make the task any easier, but we'll do our best. We're really looking forward to it," said coach Tom Hofer, who is already eagerly anticipating the first match in the Westliga.

Regionalliga West: FC Pinzgau - St. Johann 1:1 (0:0). Moosmann (54.); Kosakiewic (55.). GR: Streitwieser (P, 75., foul). - Dornbirn - Schwaz 6:1 (4:0). Herbaly (6., 8., 10.), Mbanga (22.), Favali (58.), Batista (67.); Schmiederer (69.). - Hohenems - Kitzbühel 2:0 (0:0). Yabantas (50.), Ancevski (75.). - Saturday: Austria Salzburg - Kufstein (17.30), Lauterach - Kuchl (15.30), Reichenau - Wals-Grünau (16), Röthis - Bischofshofen, Imst - Altach Juniors (both 17).