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After the first few appearances in the typical Bundesliga with a narrow win and a draw, the Linzers were accused of inefficiency in front of goal. That night there was no trace of that in the orphan stadium of the Gugl.
“This team effort is amazing. That was very mature, very strong on our part, ”said Marko Raguz. With two goals and one assist, the U21 player made his international debut again and now has eight goals after 15 European Cup games. In addition to the center forward, his neighbors also knew how to please. Peter Michorl pulled the strings in midfield, and Andreas Gruber, who joined the team late, played well. The defense acted with caution.
LASK celebrates victory
On Thursday, LASK recalled its strong performance in the European Cup of the previous season in the third qualifying round for the Europa League. In the duel with Slovakian championship leader Dunajska Streda, the tall Austrians celebrated a 7-0 victory in the empty Gugl stadium. Marko Raguz shone as a double scorer.
Hard work was rewarded
Manager Dominik Thalhammer was able to smile a little after Thomas Sabitzer’s seventh goal on the wing. His players scored almost as they pleased against a desperate Slovak league leader, almost half outnumbered. Six different scorers entered the hit list.
Thalhammer then spoke of a “well deserved victory at this level. However, we have remained calm in the last games, we have worked a lot and now we have rewarded ourselves ”. But there is still room for improvement. In principle, he does not watch the games in black and white, said the coach. “Even today, not only everything can be positively evaluated without exception.”
“This is how it should continue now”
The fact that LASK had not scored a goal in previous league games against Austria (1: 0) and WSG Tirol (1: 1) was a problem before the game. From the requests to speak afterward, it became clear that the people of Linz had been concerned about it. “We have been criticized for our exploitation of opportunities. Today we showed how efficient we can be,” Raguz said. Michorl, whose inactive balls kept the opponent busy, said: “It was fun in the first games too, but we lost effectiveness. That’s right. as it should continue now. “
LASK will continue to play at home again against WAC on Sunday. Four days later, as in the previous year, there is a duel with Sporting. Lisbon’s number two behind Benfica did not hold a shooting festival on Thursday night, but is also in the play-off thanks to a 1-0 home win over Aberdeen. In 2019, the two teams met in the group stage. Sporting won 2-1 at the José Alvalade Stadium. Linz were by no means the worst team. At home, LASK clearly won 3-0.
Good memory of Sporting
Raguz, who already met in Lisbon, remembers fondly. “We showed in both games last year that we can keep up. This time we will also have good opportunities, “said the attacker. Bernd Storck is someone who has also seen the apparitions during his analysis. Dunajska Streda’s coach saw the Linzers on par with Sporting. “I think LASK can make it to the group stage. At that time they were at eye level, also in Lisbon ”, said the German.
