Regionalliga West

Austria struggle to a narrow 1-0 win

Goalscorer Savic (left) with Zottl.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/ANDREAS TROESTER)

Austria Salzburg narrowly won 1:0 against Kitzbühel. The pitch in Maxglan was difficult to play on. Nevertheless, there was reason to celebrate as striker Joey Zottl celebrated an anniversary. Bischofshofen, FC Pinzgau and Wals-Grünau lost. St. Johann shared the points with Altach Juniors. Kuchl almost surprised in Hohenems.

"That wasn't such a good game from us," Austria coach Christian Schaider recognized aptly. Nevertheless, the Violets came away with a narrow 1:0 win in a tired Westliga match. "We're all annoyed about the style of play, which was too sluggish from the start," said the manager.

Thanks to the draw between Dornbirn and Imst and golden goalscorer Milos Savic, the three points nevertheless remained in Maxglan. "It was difficult to play. I think the pitch was also very deep," said Savic. His colleague Aaron Volkert agreed: "The pitch wasn't ideal either. We weren't able to play our quick, flat passing game. But we can't make excuses for that." Nevertheless, there were two reasons to celebrate. Striker Johannes Zottl came on in the 75th minute, making his 100th appearance in a competitive match for Austria. "Joey is an important player for us, not just on the pitch. He has a great attitude," praised the coach.

Things were turbulent in Bischofshofen: BSK coach Thomas Schnöll had to make three changes against Reichenau in the first 30 minutes. Azzef was checked into the boards and was taken to hospital, as was Alarcon with a suspected cruciate ligament rupture. Kahrimanovic was once again struggling with his old injury. Then it got even worse for the Pongau team. After a normal tackle in the sixteen, the referee suddenly pointed to the spot in the 88th minute: Plattner scored to make it 1:0. "A scandalous decision, we were playing against Reichenau and the three referees." FC Pinzgau also went off with the same result in Schwaz.

Wals-Grünau embarrassed themselves at Röthis, who had been in last place until this match, and returned home with a 2-1 defeat. St. Johann at least took a point from Altach, drawing 2-2 with the Juniors.

Kuchl also played to a draw. The Tennengau side led 1-0 in Hohenems until shortly before the end and were close to a surprise. But the home side equalized just seconds before the final whistle.

Regionalliga West, Austria Salzburg - Kitzbühel 1:0 (1:0). Goal: Savic (33.). - Bischofshofen - Reichenau 0:1 (0:0). Goal: Plattner (88., penalty). - Röthis - Wals-Grünau 2:1 (1:1). Goals: Rexhaj (8., 55.); Nika (9.). - Altach Juniors - St. Johann 2:2 (1:1). Goals: Maksimovic (5.), Koci (63.); Ojdanic (5.), Ellmer (53.). - Schwaz - FC Pinzgau 1:0 (0:0). Goal: Jünemann (84.). - Hohenems - Kuchl 1:1 (0:1). Goals: Neto (97.); Hödl (29.).