Held by LASK in battling goalless draw

FC Red Bull Salzburg

·16 April 2023

Held by LASK in battling goalless draw

Spoils shared against Linz

We fought, we probed, and we tried all we could but there was no way through against LASK. Whether it was misfortune or imprecision, the bottom line is we have to contend ourselves with one point at the Red Bull Arena today after a goalless draw.

Match summary

We went into the game determined to get back to our best and win again at home. Matthias Jaissle placed his faith with the same starting XI for the third consecutive Austrian Bundesliga tie, which last happened at the start of August 2022. We had opportunities to make a good start, with Nicolas Capaldo getting our first opportunity in the sixth minute following a clever Nicolas Seiwald free-kick, and the pair of Nicolases combined again moments later from a corner.

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We then had a frightening moment at the other end of the field. Maksym Talovierov smashed the ball into the net (19') but thankfully the Ukrainian's strike was ruled out for offside, and it remained goalless. It was clear for everyone to see that the side placed third in the table meant business in Salzburg. LASK brought a physical approach to our home ground and the referee was happy to allow them to plough away with that - making life tough for our boys.

After an opening phase rich with chances, the flow ebbed away as the first half went on, but we found a promising opening just before the break. Gloukh & Co played a series of clever short passes around the LASK area, but Benjamin Sesko was not able to beat Alexander Schlager when one-on-one, and the stalemate persisted going into the break.

Our captain Andreas Ulmer was not able to return to the field after the break as a thigh problem forced him off for Bernardo.

We upped the pressure as the second half went on and we strove to land a killer opening goal. The Linz side sat back and were happy to depend on threatening on the break, without troubling us too much. Our coach introduced two fresh pairs of legs into the attack, with Noah Okafor and Junior Adamu forming the front two for the final phases. It became really tense as we threw everything into it. Moses Usor brought down Seiwald clumsily in the box, but no spot kick was awarded – in another 50/50 decision that went against us. Adamu had a chance to win it in stoppage time but was unable to beat Schlager - and Seiwald's shot on the rebound was also blocked.

With our draw and Sturm Graz winning in Klagenfurt, our lead is cut to two points. The big match next Sunday has just become even more crucial! We therefore really want you fans to be our 12th man in the away end! You can travel to support us for just 12 Euro with our package deal.

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We wanted to take three points, of course. Congratulations to LASK, who put in a huge effort and defended almost everything. We didn't manage to turn the chances we made into goals. We will take a very thorough look at the game tomorrow. Next week we will definitely have to do a few things better to get a result against Sturm Graz.

Matthias Jaissle

It was a difficult and even match against a good LASK team, but we had to make more of the chances we had. If the ball had only gone in! We need a win in Graz, and we will have to prepare really well for that.

Amar Dedic

Line-up

Substitutions

Bernardo for Ulmer (46'), Okafor for Sesko (66'), Adamu for Koita (66'), Forson for Gourna-Douath (78'), Konate for Okafor (90+5')

Yellow cards

Seiwald (89' foul)

Injury news

Fernando (back), Guindo (knee), Kjaergaard (foot), Omoregie (back), Onguene (knee), Sucic (knee) and Tijani (shoulder) were out. Van der Brempt was also unable to play due to a thigh injury.