Salzburg promotion:

“The goals were crazy, we wanted it badly”

Bulls coach Pepijn Lijnders

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The adrenaline was still pumping through Pepijn Lijnders. "Only a team with that kind of spirit can survive this," said Salzburg's coach after the nerve-wracking 3-3 draw in Enschede on Tuesday. "We really wanted it. [...] The goals were crazy."

After the 2-1 win in the first leg, the draw was enough to progress in the Champions League qualifiers against Twente. In the end, the spectacle that led to a clash with Dynamo Kiev for a place in the top flight turned out to be unnecessarily tense.

The Bulls twice had a three-goal lead on aggregate in the hot cauldron of Enschede, but last year's third-placed team in the Dutch Eredivisie twice reduced the lead after a corner kick and finally came close in the final. Not much was missing and the third-round duel would have gone into extra time. But breezy defending from set pieces and a penalty missed by Maurits Kjaergaard with the score at 3:2 did not pay off. "I haven't spoken to the standards analysts yet, I'm sure they're not happy. We have to analyze that," Lijnders criticized on Sky and laughed.

Tiredness in the finish
However, the Bulls, who were initially eager to play and dominant, certainly had their work cut out for them. "We were so tired in the last 20 minutes, we were so, so tired," said Lijnders indulgently in view of the workload in hot and humid temperatures in the east of his home country. "We played an incredible first half. The goals were crazy. That was really good soccer. How we started the game, how we found the free players, how our counter-pressing worked, how we dealt with their long balls, that was excellent," praised Salzburg's new coach on ServusTV.

After just a few games of the young season, it is clear that the spectacle has returned in Salzburg. The goal difference after five competitive matches is 20:7. "If we play our soccer, then we also create the chances," noted playmaker Maurits Kjaergaard. The Dane, who was already a key player in the first leg with a brace, caught the eye with a fine lob to make it 1-0 in addition to his missed penalty.

"It was really fun"
It was also thanks to Kjaergaard that it took time for the "Grolsch Fortress" to get up to operating temperature. Lijnders had repeatedly warned of the atmospheric ambience. "It's really not easy to play here. You don't want this stadium to wake up and get behind the team," said the long-serving Liverpool co-trainer. Salzburg's youngsters - only goalkeeper Janis Blaswich (33) was over 24 years old from the starting eleven - enjoyed this dubious benefit in the final. Even if Samson Baidoo did not want to miss the experience after winning the defensive battle and seven long minutes of stoppage time. "Playing in such a cauldron was really fun," said Salzburg's designated new defensive boss.

Kamil Piatkowski defended confidently alongside the only ÖFB representative to make an appearance, but like some others in the team, he made mistakes at the end. The Pole should soon be back in action against Hendry Blank, who has a thigh injury.

Oumar Solet was not involved. Salzburg's central defender was recently in negotiations with Hoffenheim, but according to media reports the transfer has fallen through. The Frenchman's knee is said to have failed the medical check.

Dynamo Kiev now await Salzburg on their way to a sixth Champions League appearance in a row. The Ukrainians beat ten Scots 2:0 (3:1 on aggregate) late on in Glasgow. The first leg will take place away from home on August 21; the Ukrainians last played against Rangers in Lublin (Poland).

In the event of elimination, Austria's league leaders will transfer to the Europa League. Salzburg will take the opportunity to skip the Bundesliga match scheduled between the duels for regeneration and preparation reasons. The home game against Hartberg (24th) has been postponed to an as yet unknown date. Before the final steps in the qualifiers, however, Salzburg will host LASK in Linz on Saturday.