For Tabakovic himself, it was just “awesome”. The Swiss took the match ball home with him. “The ball will find its place next to the trophy for the top scorer in the second division,” said the 28-year-old. Goals 13 to 15 (23rd, 27th, 96th) were scored by Tabakovic in the spring, and he now has 17 goals in total this season. Austria’s center forward is now two goals short of Burgstaller, who is the top scorer in the top scorer list and shot Rapid to make it 2-1 (36th).
“I can’t say that as a striker I don’t look at it. But Burgstaller also scores goals all the time,” the Austrian commented. It is more important anyway to achieve the goals with the team. In any case, the hit by the Italian singer Gala (“Freed from Desire”) was also liked by Vienna favorites. “Haris on Fire” echoed several times over the violet fan grandstand. “I heard that the fans and the team call him Jesus,” remarked Austria coach Wimmer with a smile.
Austria defeats Rapid
Three goals from Haris Tabakovic gave Wiener Austria a 3-1 derby win over arch-rivals Rapid Wien. Burgstaller’s 2-1 goal was no more than a cosmetic result.
Goal guarantee comes with confidence
The fact that a striker, who was sometimes labeled a bad buy in autumn, is now exploding to such an extent, had to be questioned again. “The coach didn’t do anything with Haris, we supervisors can’t help it. He works hard in training and everyone knows what confidence is,” noted Wimmer. Tabakovic also knows what he has in his teammates. An Andreas Gruber or Dominik Fitz is currently excellent at using the Storm Tank.
“He’s a machine. If he has such a run, he won’t be around much longer,” said Fitz, who was also strong on Sunday. Austria’s third win against their arch-rivals of the season lifted them up to fourth place in the table, giving them a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers. The “Violets” do not want to give up the goal, which is also important from a financial point of view, in the remaining three rounds.
Take momentum with you to Klagenfurt
The first success in the master group – equivalent to the 2-0 win against Rapid at the end of the regular season – should be followed by number two on Sunday in Klagenfurt. “Hopefully we’ll take the self-confidence with us now,” said Wimmer. He saw the derby come at the right time after three defeats. “The energy was there. We won’t let go, we’ll keep our foot on the accelerator.” Wimmer reported “happy faces” in the dressing room.
The confidence for the end of the season is there among the players and supervisors despite a difficult remaining program, one point ahead of Rapid and three over the Klagenfurt team, the “Violets” take it with them as a cushion in the last three rounds. After the guest appearance in Carinthia against a direct competitor, the difficult away game at LASK is still waiting for Wimmer’s selection in the penultimate round. Finally, on the final day of the game, Austria welcomes leaders Red Bull Salzburg.
Master Group, 29th round
Sunday:
Austria – Rapid 3:1 (2:1)
Tore:
1:0 Tabakovic (23.)
2:0 Tabakovic (27.)
2: 1 Burgstaller (36th)
3:1 Tabakovic (90.+6)
Austria: Früchtl – Mühl, Martins, Meisl – Ranftl, Holland (80th Braunöder), Fischer, Leidner – Gruber (77th Jukic), Tabakovic, Fitz (85th Dovedan)
Rapid: Hedl – Kasius, Sollbauer, Wimmer, Moormann (85th Bajic) – Kerschbaum, Greil – Strunz (32nd Grüll), Druijf (58th Zimmermann), Kühn – Burgstaller
Yellow cards: Holland, Fitz, Tabakovic or Greil, Kühn, Kerschbaum
The best: Ranftl, Tabakovic, Fitz or Burgstaller, Hedl
