Tel Aviv, which had a 1-1 draw in Klagenfurt, had to face a Europa League third in the knockout phase in the sixteenth finals (February). From a financial point of view, the pool win for the team of coach Andreas Wieland is worthwhile. Apart from the award, there is now a bonus of 650,000 euros (instead of 325,000). The LASK can now approach the final match against HJK Helsinki in Klagenfurt on December 9th in a relaxed manner.
Shortly after kick-off there was a three-minute break due to smoke in the stadium. After that, the home side were clearly better in the game in an intense game and initially set the tone on their own. Stipe Perica missed a cross from Andre Geraldes by just centimeters (16 th). After an hour it was Geraldes who forced LASK goalkeeper Alexander Schlager to defend against the premiere.
LASK wins “last minute” in Tel Aviv
The big game in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday was the match between LASK and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Linzers were able to secure victory in Group A ahead of time.
It got even tighter in the 39th minute, when the crossbar saved a header from Shahar Piven as a result of a corner for the athletes who had started without the CoV-tested Peter Michorl.
Goiginger gives away great opportunities
It was the start of a thrilling final phase of the first half, in which it went back and forth. Lukas Grgic caused LASK goal danger for the first time with a long shot that went just over the goal (41.).
On the other hand, Schlager needed a brilliant save in order to thwart a conclusion of Perica, which was running towards him alone after a LASK positional error (45th). In return, the Linz team found their first one hundred percent chance of scoring, Thomas Goiginger rolled the ball past the goal from eleven meters after a failed Perez tee-off and Horvath pass (45 + 1).
Both teams took the momentum with them into the second half, looking for an early decision in the battle for first place. Goiginger got the shot after Haken at the Fünfereck, but found his master in Perez (48th). Schlager was also challenged and held a Hozez attempt (55th). As a result, it was Keito Nakamura on the Linz side who put himself in the limelight.
Horvath hits at the last minute
When the 21-year-old Japanese shot a well-off shot, Perez saved a corner (68th), a volley hit was rightly not recognized because it was offside (83rd). Jan Boller (85th) and again Nakamura (87th) pushed for the winning goal, which Horvath finally scored. The midfielder was sent by “Joker” Alexander Schmidt with a hole pass and gave Perez no chance.
That did the Linzers very well, as they had last given a 3-0 lead in the league at Sturm Graz and only got a 3: 3. That was one of many league disappointments this season. Internationally, however, things continue to run as desired: In Tel Aviv, the seventh European Cup away win in a row was achieved, five times there have been no goals against.
Voices for the game:
Andreas Wieland (LASK trainer): “A teammate would have run along, but if he has the confidence to finish like this, that’s absolutely positive. We are totally happy with the goal and the group win as a result. The change of coach at Maccabi made a difference, they had a different approach. We reacted to that at half time. We prepared ourselves for a cup fight, we accepted it and decided for ourselves. You could see in the game that it is not easy to play at Maccabi in Israel against a strong team in front of a great crowd. In the first half we weren’t able to make anything useful out of our ball conquests. I still think it was a game on par with the happier ending for us. “
Sascha Horvath (LASK goal scorer): “It was a really great feeling. When the game started it was foggy, it was demolished, nothing more was seen. The atmosphere was really great and we wanted the stadium to be quiet again. Fortunately, we managed to do that in the 90th minute, there is no better win than that. It was a very intense game, a lot to run. We defended everything well, created a few chances and deserved the win because we gave everything for 90 minutes and rewarded ourselves. “
UEFA Europa Conference League, Group A, fifth matchday
Thursday:
Maccabi Tel Aviv – LASK 0:1 (0:0)
Tel Aviv, Bloomfield Stadium, SR Jerome Brisard/FRA
Tor: Horvath (89.)
Tel Aviv: Perez – Geraldes, Hernandez, Piven, Saborit – Yeini – Kuwas (81./Guerrero), Golasa (84./Schamir), Kanichowsky, Hozez (69./Davidzada) – Perica (69./Chalaila)
LASK: Schlager – Flecker (61./Potzmann), Boller, Luckeneder (46./Wiesinger), Renner – Hong (60./Holland), Grgic – Goiginger (77./Gruber), Horvath, Nakamura – Karamoko (77./Schmidt )
Yellow cards: Golasa or Luckeneder, Wiesinger, Potzmann
