No winner in part one of our Hartberg double

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·30 November 2024

No winner in part one of our Hartberg double

Lead slips as we draw 1-1

How frustrating! We dominated in the 15th matchday of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga against TSV Hartberg, only for the hosts to level out of nowhere while numerous opportunities went unused.

Match summary

The start wasn't particularly spectacular, with the opening ten minutes all about probing the other side. We had a shock as a completely harmless Hartberg side pounced on a misplaced headed backpass that went into the path of Youba Diarra. The former Bull tried to play across for a team-mate to turn in, but Alex Schlager was back just in the nick of time!

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We had a difficulty with Amar Dedic having to leave the pitch with thigh problems (26'). The changes we had to make led, however, indirectly to our boys taking the lead. We increased the tempo step-by-step and became more of a threat in front of the opposing goal. We thought we had taken the lead when Moussa Yeo netted in the 36th minute, only for the referee to have seen a foul from Petar Ratkov when nodding down to him - in a decision that certainly could have gone the other way. Be it as it may, we managed to go and smash the opener just before the break regardless. Hartberg goalkeeper Sallinger was able to pull off a strong save to stop a Ratkov shot, but Nicolas Capaldo was lurking around the area – having taken to the right flank following Dedic's injury and smashed the ball in on the rebound (44'). As a nice gesture in the goal celebration that followed, our boys took out a Konate jersey to show their support for the injured Ivorian.

Dorgeles Nene had a chance to make it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time, but the precision was lacking, as it was with some of our other chances. The shot count told a clear picture, as we were 13-0 to the good - with the only complaint being the fact we didn't convert more of them.

The second period followed a similar pattern - at least to begin with. Yeo and Bajcetic both went close to a second goal with 30 minutes remaining, but again there was no strike forthcoming. Then the hosts suddenly celebrated totally against the run of play (with their expected goals value having been 0 by this stage).

After Bajcetic gave the ball away in the middle, Hartberg ventured forward and Schlager rushed out to knock the through pass away - but only sent it to the feet of Diarra. The midfielder finished with a stylish chip. We tried to restore our lead in the final phases, but we couldn't fashion chances as clear-cut as earlier in the game, and we had to be content with a frustrating 1-1 draw. This Wednesday (4 December), we want to put things right when we host Hartberg in a rearranged tie from earlier in the season at 20:30 CET in our Red Bull Arena.

Views

We are making the wrong decisions in certain situations at the moment. You could notice in the second half that the wind was out of our sails a bit, and Hartberg were better after the restart. We weren't clinical enough, even if we had enough chances on the break to create clear goalscoring opportunities. It's a shame, but in our current situation a point is better than none.

Alex Schlager

It is really difficult to find the right words after a match like today's. We started with a good energy after the difficult match in Leverkusen. We conceded the goal from one chance and didn't manage to use 20 chances ourselves. We did a lot right, brought energy and team spirit on the pitch, but it is not enough at the moment. I would like to give everything for this team to get out of this situation. I promise that we will pull our socks up for the last matches before Christmas.

Mads Bidstrup

Line-up

Substitutions

Bajcetic for Dedic (26'), Daghim for Ratkov (75'), Gourna-Douath for Bidstrup (75'), Clark for Nene (87')

Yellow cards

Capaldo (58' foul), Yeo (64' dissent)

Injury news

Not available for the match are Janis Blaswich (calf), Fernando (thigh), Maurits Kjaergaard (ankle), Karim Konate (knee), Leandro Morgalla (thigh) and Aleksa Terzic (adductors).