Austria remains on the winning road

Record cup winner Austria Vienna is in the quarterfinals. The violets won 1-0 against the second division team, which was lackluster but deserved. For coach Stephan Helm and his team it was the fourth competitive win in a row.

Even before kick-off, Marko Raguz had reason to be happy. The striker was back in the starting line-up for the first time since February 2022, back then for LASK. After a long injury break, he was allowed to start in the Violets’ uniform for the first time. With him, Austria tried to live up to their role as favorites from the start. Which was initially only partially successful. So it was Horn who had the first chance to score. But Kos, who was allowed to guard the Veilchen goal instead of Sahin-Radlinger, was there after a free kick.

The guests dominated the game and had significantly more possession of the ball. But apart from a direct pass from Prelec, which narrowly missed its target (18th), they were initially hardly able to create any danger. The worst defense in the second division – Horn conceded 30 goals in eleven games – had everything under control against the third-place team in the Bundesliga. Still.

But Austria should reward themselves before the break. After a Prelec header, Ranftl’s first shot was blocked, but in the second attempt the ball found its way into the goal (35th). Galvao had deflected the ball into an unsustainable position, and Austria was able to celebrate a deserved lead at the break.

After the break, Gruber (52nd) and Fitz (58th) missed good opportunities to make the decision. Austria pushed, the redeeming second goal wasn’t going to happen, so the favorite had to tremble until the end.

LASK had more trouble with second division team Voitsberg. Krienzer had put the outsider in the lead (33rd), but Zulj (42nd) and Ziereis (47th) ensured the favorites won.