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Coach Dominik Thalhammer was happy about “a good performance”. Following a counterattack and submission from Andreas Gruber, Bremen’s loan was off to a good start and received much praise from Thalhammer. “He did an excellent job, with a lot of quality and a lot of calm,” said the coach of the 22-year-old, who last celebrated his first goal for LASK in a 2-0 win over Sturm Graz.
Eggestein’s joy was also someone else’s suffering. The player of the U21 team Raguz twisted his knee after about 40 minutes without any external influence, on which he had had to be treated minutes before. “That is extremely bitter for Marko, he is a very important player for us,” said midfielder Peter Michorl.
Two wins in the Europa League
Three Austrian teams were in action in the Europa League on Thursday. LASK and Rapid won, WAC suffered its first loss.
The exact injury suffered by Upper Austria will only be shown by an MRI examination – there is fear of a cruciate ligament tear and a prolonged tear. “He looked bad, he’s in pain. I hope it’s not what it sounds like, ”Thalhammer explained.
Insurance even after exclusion from Holland
The second, though possibly not as long-lasting, had to digest LASK in the 68th minute with yellow-red for veteran James Holland. Even after that, Antwerp had no chance, other than a missed lift in injury time. “In the last 20 minutes we kept pushing the ball and we hardly allowed anything,” Thalhammer said.
Even before that, his team around defense chief Gernot Trauner had “defended everything,” as Michorl put it. Royal, who had surprised with a 1-0 win against Tottenham the week before and didn’t find a single really good opportunity against LASK with the exception of the aforementioned siphon, acted quite unexpectedly. “We were a bit surprised that Antwerp threw their way of playing overboard and played with long balls. But we also check them well. Our last line of defense was very consistent, “Thalhammer said.
On offense, LASK had few well-finished stocks to offer. “In the first 25 minutes we did relatively well, we had scoring chances that we didn’t finish or we missed,” Michorl said, describing what happened before the break. In the end, the Viennese was convinced that “mentality was decisive”.
Changes cause excitement
The discussions arose the day after the game because the hosts made four instead of the only three interruptions allowed in the exchange in the second half. Television footage clearly shows that in the 63rd minute two Antwerp players had already been on the bench for a double substitution before scoring problems apparently caused a delay. So the referee whistled again and the second change was made half a minute later than planned after the match was interrupted again. Since the hosts traded two players, there were four interruptions from the Belgian side at the end.
For LASK it was an “extraordinary situation.” However, the Linzers give up challenging the game’s valuation. “The idea of fair play is in the foreground for us. In this group, a 3-0 instead of a 1-0 could give us a decisive advantage, but we are reluctant to see Royal Antwerp at a disadvantage in this way. Mistakes can happen, ”said Vice President Jürgen Werner. Furthermore, the Belgians behaved extremely fairly on and off the field and did their best to feel comfortable despite the difficult situation of the coronavirus. “That is why we will not file an objection,” Werner said.
Three-way battle at the top
The promotion race in Group J is extremely exciting at the “break”: championship leaders Tottenham, Antwerp (2nd) and LASK (3rd) each have six points, last on the list being the useless Rasgrad. After a three-week break, the “second leg” against Antwerp will take place in Linz on November 26.
Michorl: “It is a very exciting group. Now we have a small advantage in the direct duel with Antwerp. But we know we need such a performance, that mentality at home. Because if we don’t get anything at home, today’s win wasn’t worth much. “
