Late strike seals home win v Klagenfurt

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·3 March 2024

Late strike seals home win v Klagenfurt

Konate smashes match-winning goal

In the 21st matchday of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, we took a 1-0 win with a dominant performance against SK Austria Klagenfurt. We set the tone for large stretches of our final home match of the Austrian Bundesliga's regular season in front of over 10,000 spectators, and could have won by a greater margin due to the many chances we created.

Match summary

Our Red Bulls began with Petar Ratkov and Fernando forming the front two on a splendid spring day. There were no big chances in the opening stages, however, with the start marked by both sides putting out feelers and plenty of tough challenges. Our early efforts were almost rewarded by Ratkov, who smashed the ball on goal after a perfect Bidstrup pass (10').

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We kept on probing for gaps in the packed Klagenfurt defence. Fernando was in ferocious form again and smashed just wide (18'), while only the woodwork got between Ratkov and an opening goal for our boys (23').

Peter Pacult's side offered nothing in attack by this stage, with our boys in complete control. We gave the visitors next to no chance of breaking into our half, chasing them down and continually seizing possession.

Amar Dedic charged through on goal in striker mode, beating several opponents before firing over (38'). Dorgeles Nene had a go from a similar distance (43') but was unable to find the net.

Referee Alexander Harkam had barely started the second period by the time the alarm bells were ringing in the Klagenfurt penalty area again. Maurits Kjaergaard had a go with a header in the 49th minute and shortly afterwards tried his luck with a volley.

There was a frustrating side to the play by this stage. Our boys had the upper hand but simply could not break through the visitors' packed defensive ranks. Ratkov was picked out perfectly by Kjaergaard at the near post, but our Serbian striker sent his header agonisingly wide (67').

Then it finally came! Substitute Karim Konate instantly struck, pouncing on a loose ball in the Klagenfurt area with all his clinicalness to smash the ball in on the turn (73'). The young Ivorian was scenting blood and could have sealed it soon afterwards (84'). We remained hungry for goals until the very end, piling pressure on the visitors and giving them nothing at all at our end of the field.

Views

We knew that it would be a difficult match. Klagenfurt gave everything to keep us out. We clearly had more chances. We had several opportunities to extend our lead - but the win was definitely deserved!

Gerhard Struber

It was a well-deserved win from my point of view. It was not easy and lots of patience was required against a well-organised team that did well defensively, but in the end we made it past them, thankfully. After going 1-0 up it was easier, and we should have made better use of our chances.

Amar Dedic

Line-up

Substitutions

Koita for Nene (61'), Konate for Fernando (72'), Simic for Ratkov (72'), Forson for Bidstrup (72'), Diambou for Kjaergaard (90+3')

Yellow cards

Fernando (68' foul), Dedic (88' foul), Konate (90+3' foul)

Injury news

Not available for the match were Samson Baidoo (ankle), Hendry Blank (ill), Nicolas Capaldo (knee), Flavius Daniliuc (ill), Leandro Morgalla (recovering), Luka Sucic (knee), Andreas Ulmer (calf) and Oscar Gloukh, who was absent for personal reasons.