A fair draw

LIVE from 5pm: WSG Tirol against FC Blau-Weiß Linz

WSG Tirol and BW Linz drew 1-1.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

A goalkeeping blunder earned WSG Tirol a point against Blau-Weiß Linz. After Jamie Lawrence's own goal, Linz looked like the winners for a long time. But a free-kick goal from Matthäus Taferner, with a neat assist from goalkeeper Andreas Lukse, made the final score 1-1.

WSG Tirol remain a lukewarm team in front of their own fans, but at least they heard the goal anthem at the Tivoli Stadium for the first time this season on Saturday. Thanks to a clear improvement in performance in the second half and a free-kick from Matthäus Taferner (83rd), the Watten-based side drew 1-1 (0-1) against Blau-Weiß Linz in the ninth round of the Bundesliga and increased their lead over bottom club GAK to five points in ninth place.

Blau-Weiß, who seemed to be on their way to victory thanks to an own goal by Jamie Lawrence (29'), failed to draw level with league leaders Sturm Graz at least until Sunday due to a weak second half. Scheiblehner's side are two points behind the champions in third place for the time being.

Tyroleans became more active
Both teams sent two new players into the starting eleven. Lennart Czyborra and Lukas Sulzbacher for WSG compared to the 3:1 win over WAC, while Alexander Schmidt and Silvan Wallner came in for Linz. The game only gathered pace after around 20 minutes. BW goalgetter Ronivaldo headed past the goal (18'), a little later WSG cleared just off the line after a dangerous header by Fabio Strauss (21').

WSG coach Philipp Semlic

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

The Tyroleans now became more active and had a shot blocked by Cem Üstündag (28'). Just at this stage, however, WSG fell behind due to an unfortunate action. Lawrence, who was running towards goal, kicked a sharp Stangl pass into his own goal. Blau-Weiß got the upper hand, let the ball and opponent run and pressed for the second goal. Ronivaldo's best move saw him hit the outside of the post after a fine attacking move (35').

Blunder by Lukse
WSG had heard the proverbial shot and opened the second half with a lot of pressure. However, a Sulzbacher curler from a turn missed the far corner (46') and an Okungbowa header from a free-kick also missed the target (54'). The visitors were now struggling to build up play, but did create two chances. Simon Seidl tested Adam Stejskal from an acute angle after a counter-attack (51'), and the WSG goalkeeper was also on hand to save a Ronivaldo header to the near corner (55').

Although the home side clearly had the upper hand in the second half, they remained largely uninspired in attack. A set-piece situation finally broke the spell and punished the Upper Austrians' almost complete lack of performance up front: BW goalkeeper Andreas Lukse misjudged Taferner's free-kick and allowed the ball to pass. A WSG power play in the final stages went unrewarded.