Joyful Faces After Impressive Home Triumph

The team's development curve has been pointing in the right direction in recent weeks. The home win at the Raiffeisen Arena against Klagenfurt marked the fifth consecutive competitive match in which the Athletiker remained unbeaten. It was the second time this season, after the 4-2 win over GAK, that the Black-and-Whites scored four goals in the league, and for the first time, they managed to keep a clean sheet.

"It was about time we kept a clean sheet. As a defender, that's pretty important, so we'll gladly take that," grinned Philipp Ziereis, who gave collective praise to the entire team: "We delivered a top performance today and executed exactly what we had planned. We scored the goals at the right moments, and in the end, we deserved the win," summarized the 31-year-old center-back after the 17th victory in 22 matches against the Carinthians, against whom they remain unbeaten.

Robert Zulj paved the way to victory with a stunning volley to make it 1-0 after 26 minutes. "A stroke of genius and the key to opening things up," remarked Schopp about the captain's 50th Bundesliga goal. "We knew the opponent was in good form. In the first half, we avoided exactly what Klagenfurt was waiting for - losing possession," explained the coach.

Equally significant was the 2-0, courtesy of Maximilian Entrup's first goal in his starting debut for LASK. The U21 European Championship player was understandably delighted after the match: "I had worked hard for a long time to be on the pitch today. I'm glad it happened this way and that we were able to reward ourselves," said the forward, who also earned praise from his coach: "He's a player who moves smartly between the lines and attacks the space well. He has the quality to score goals and is very versatile."

Nonetheless, all involved understood how to correctly assess both the performance and the result. “It would be fatal to believe that we can now fall into euphoria,” cautioned Schopp. “We can see development, but we still have a long way to go. Especially in phases where the opponent changes something, we need to respond better and stay calmer. We must learn to interpret the game better. There is still a lot of room for improvement.”

The players are also aware of this. “We want to continue on the path we have now taken. During the international break, we will make good use of the time for training and recovery to come back stronger for the next phase,” explained Ziereis, whose team will continue on October 20 against WSG Tirol, followed by matches against Olimpija Ljubljana in the UEFA Conference League, SK Sturm Graz (get your tickets now) in the league, and ASK Voitsberg in the ÖFB Cup. During the break, they want to both integrate players more closely into the team and work on aspects where improvement is needed—both in their own ball possession and defensively. Moreover, transitions will be an important focus, and improvements are also needed in offensive set pieces, Schopp added.

Off the pitch, the afternoon in the Raiffeisen Arena was a resounding success. The new social project with leading partner backaldrin received excellent feedback. Since Sunday, all cup deposits donated at Bundesliga home matches in the Raiffeisen Arena will benefit the Children’s Cancer Aid OÖ, specifically from the Schwarz-Weiß tribune and the family tribune. During the match against Klagenfurt, a total of 1,000 cups were collected, and the proceeds will be donated 100% to the Children’s Cancer Aid OÖ.

As part of the backaldrin action match day, the beaming winners of the crossbar challenge received their prizes from backaldrin owner Peter Augendopler at the sidelines during halftime. Additionally, the "Trikotbooster" also selected several fans in the stands of the Raiffeisen Arena as lucky winners.