Last round before the break

The Westliga had a real bang once again

(Bild: FC Lauterach)

The last round of the Regionalliga West before the winter break was a worthy finale. With 33 goals, the previous record of 32 from the opening round was surpassed, with the 16 clubs saving the best for last.

Dornbirn contributed the most goals of the Vorarlberg clubs at the end. As in the season opener (6:1), Schwaz was also a good place for the Rothosen on the road, with Eric Orie and his team winning 4:2 against the Tyroleans. "That made me happy once again after the cheeky performance we had recently delivered at home against Wals-Grünau," said the FCD coach. "It was a commanding win. We were compact and didn't allow ourselves to be tempted to play all over the pitch this time. And we could have scored a few more goals at the end."

Eric Orie was delighted with his team's strong performance in Schwaz.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Crown for Dornbirn
The Messestädter thus secured the Ländle crown, keeping Hohenems at bay, who for their part turned around a 0:1 deficit in Kitzbühel and secured their second away win of the season thanks to an own goal by the home side in stoppage time.

Juniors defy Imst
Altach Juniors were also at their best in the final round. The Rheindörflers hosted league leaders Imst and fell 2-0 behind after just over half an hour due to a double strike against the Tyroleans, who had not lost in the entire fall. However, they fought their way back to snatch a point from the visitors.

Ex-Austria Lustenau player Nicolai Bösch scored twice for the Lauterach side in their win in Kuchl.

(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Within striking distance
The last matchday was also very pleasing for bottom club Lauterach. In the clash of promoted teams, Hofsteiger had already taken the lead at the break with a goal from Nicolai Bösch in Kuchl. Just six minutes later, the ex-Austria Lustenau player scored another goal in the second half to keep his team within striking distance of the competition in the relegation battle for the spring.

Röthis suffered their only defeat from a Ländle perspective, and a heavy one at that. Coach Ali Özkan's team, which has been badly hit by injuries this fall, was already 2-0 down after just under a quarter of an hour in Bischofshofen and ultimately had to return home from Salzburg after a 5-1 defeat.

Kolumne

So sollte Regionalliga sein

Western League soccer could be so exciting. The 16 clubs scored 33 goals in the last round alone and played matches at a high level. League leaders Imst stumbled against valiant Altach Juniors, with the Tyroleans now going into the winter break neck-and-neck with Austria Salzburg at the top. Dornbirn secured the Ländle crown in Schwaz, Hohenems won through an own goal in stoppage time. Newly promoted Lauterach, who have had to pay a lot of tuition fees in the RLW so far, pulled out all the stops at the end to secure their second win of the season.

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? And that's exactly what regional league soccer should be. Exciting. And at a good level. Attractive for spectators, clubs and players alike. Unfortunately, that's not exactly the case in reality. Or rather, the perception is not quite like that. Because the good level is true. However, what deters many Ländle clubs from taking the (long-term) step into the third division is usually the lack of spectators and high travel costs. Many players in the lower divisions who could perhaps play at a higher level are less interested in the travel costs, but are more interested in the effort involved - twelve trips over the Arlberg and possibly a few additional training sessions.

The regional league is a stepping stone to professional soccer. It should be the first goal of every (ambitious) young footballer. Because our future professionals can't just come from the academy.