Western League opener

Austria record a commanding win against Kufstein

Sorda (left) scored after a Schwaighofer cross (right).

(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Austria Salzburg recorded a commanding win against Kufstein in the first round of the Westliga to underline their promotion ambitions.Bischofshofen drew 0-0 with Röthis, while Kuchl celebrated a resounding victory in the promotion duel. Wals-Grünau comes under the wheels.

"We're going up again," sang the Austria fans shortly before the end of the match. Their team made it clear right from the start which direction they wanted to take in the Westliga opener against Kufstein and throughout the rest of the season. The "Mission Promotion" should finally succeed. The Violets dominated, pressed high up the pitch and took an early lead (5th) after a cross by striker Johannes Zottl. Just under half an hour later (34'), Marinko Sorda was completely free to head home from Schwaighofer's cross in the five-yard box - 2:0. Volkert made it 2:0 shortly after the restart (49').

The fact that Salzburg had to concede a goal in the 56th minute after a poke in their own penalty area did not change the game. Winger Alex Schwaighofer set up Zottl to make it 4:1 (69'). Sorda scored the final goal in stoppage time to make it 5:1. "We dominated the game," said the two-time assist provider jubilantly.

Impressive streak
Austria have never lost a league opener since the club was re-established. "We were aggressive in the tackles, which is extremely important for us. 5:1 is more than deserved. The boys did very well," said a beaming coach Christian Schaider. In the end, the Bavarian only had one point to criticize: "Unfortunately, we didn't score enough goals."

The opening win was also important mentally, as last week's defeat in the ÖFB Cup against Reichenau was painful. "It's about confidence in our strengths, and we showed that," said the coach.

Kuchl celebrated a resounding victory in the promoted team duel with Lauterach. The Tennengau side won 5:1 in Vorarlberg, with Michael Perlak putting the visitors ahead in the 22nd minute and Kristijan Dulabic equalizing shortly before the break (41'). After the breather, Hofer's team turned up the pace, Temel (53') and Nestaval (55') put Kuchl in front before Muslijaja (87') and Ratzer (94') ensured the clear final score.

Wals-Grünau also got off to a good start. The team from Flachgau made the journey from Reichenau with a 0:5 defeat. Bischofshofen failed to score a goal in Röthis. As the home side also failed to score, the game ended in a draw.