Football: Austria Wien Defeats GAK in Injury Time

Vienna Austria managed to return to the winning path with luck before the international break. After defeats against Salzburg (0:3) and Hartberg (1:2), the Favoriten team celebrated a 2:1 victory against bottom team GAK on Saturday at the start of the 13th league round, thanks to a late goal by "joker" Marko Raguz (91st minute). At least for one day, they moved from seventh to sixth place. The gap between the Styrians and second-to-last Blau-Weiß Linz remains one point.

That no team kept a clean sheet in the Generali Arena, which was filled with 12,465 spectators, was not surprising, as the teams with the most league goals conceded so far faced each other. Tin Plavotic (24th minute) headed the hosts into the lead, and "joker" Daniel Maderner (52nd minute) soon equalized after the restart in an extremely chance-poor match. Raguz prevented the fair point-sharing that had occurred in the first season duel in Graz (2:2).

Vienna Austria Took the Lead

The Viennese found it difficult to get into a hard-fought match and were also lucky that defense chief Aleksandar Dragovic escaped with a yellow card after a rough tackle against the breaking-through Ramiz Harakate on the side (7th minute). Harakate's speed also caused problems for the Viennese several times afterward. In the 19th minute, the GAK striker failed at goalkeeper Samuel Sahin-Radlinger on the first top chance, and Thomas Schiestl's follow-up shot was just blocked.

The hosts' lead was not indicated at all, but it still happened. After a corner from Manprit Sarkaria, Plavotic was successful with a header. The lead, after two recent quick 0:2 deficits, did the team of coach Stephan Helm good, and they were significantly closer to the second goal afterward. A shot by Barry went just wide (32nd minute), and Lee Kang-hee also failed against Jakob Meierhofer after an ideal pass from Lee Tae-seok (34th minute).

GAK Equalized Only Once

GAK coach Ferdinand Feldhofer had a "golden touch" at halftime. Substitute Maderner was sent on his way with a through ball from Harakate during a counterattack, rounded Sahin-Radlinger, and remained cool in the finish. It was the only chance highlight until injury time; otherwise, the action was characterized by duels for every centimeter and high balls.

The logical draw did not happen, as Raguz finished impressively in the penalty area, reminiscent of his best times, and was also lucky that the ball deflected by Pines found its way into the goal via the underside of the crossbar. The Graz team, after their recent first season victory - 3:1 against Altach - once again ended up empty-handed. Against teams from Vienna, they remain winless even after game number seven since their return to the league.

(APA/Red)

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