LASK celebrates home victory against Klagenfurt

With three changes, LASK started the Easter home game against Austria Klagenfurt: Head coach Thomas Sageder brought in Felix Luckeneder, Branko Jovicic, and Elias Havel into the starting lineup, with Andres Andrade moving to the left wing. The match offered little surprises: the Carinthians defended deep in a compact block, while the Athletiker controlled the game and tried to find solutions to penetrate the final third. This was rarely successful initially, with a lack of confidence and conviction evident from the past rounds without a win.

Nevertheless, the Linz team spared no effort to end their goal drought. The first real danger came after a set-piece, as Luckeneder headed a corner into the arms of Klagenfurt keeper Phillip Menzel after 25 minutes. Towards the end of the first half, LASK managed to increase the pressure, resulting in a good combination finished by Sascha Horvath towards the near post. However, Menzel was equal to the task, as was Tobias Lawal on the other end, denying a double chance from Max Besuschkow (43.).

In the first action after the break, Florian Flecker unleashed his attacking drive, embarked on a solo run, and narrowly missed the target against goalie Menzel (47.). A shot deflected over the bar by Havel three minutes later served as further evidence of nearing the opening goal, although the guests found Lawal unbeatable with a top chance from Sinan Karweina. Shortly thereafter, it finally happened: Once again, Luckeneder found himself with a header after a Horvath corner, but this time he left no chance for the Klagenfurt goalkeeper, scoring the much-celebrated first LASK goal since February 11, also against the Carinthians. It was also the defender's second goal of the season.

With that, a great burden was lifted, and the Athletiker almost immediately added another goal: Horvath sent Moses Usor deep, who narrowly missed the goal past Menzel (60.). Marin Ljubicic also had an opportunity to extend the lead a quarter of an hour later, but his shot was too tame. Despite the narrow scoreline, LASK managed to keep the opponent largely away from their own box and did not allow any significant chances for the guests. In the end, the Black and Whites kept a clean sheet for the fourth time in the last six rounds and celebrated their first full success in the spring season.

LASK - SK Austria Klagenfurt 1:0 (0:0)
Goal: 1:0 Luckeneder (58.)
Yellow cards: Jovicic (16.), Luckeneder (22.), Havel (62.); Gkezos (14.), Cvetko (33.), Mahrer (68.)

Line-up: Lawal – Talovierov, Ziereis (K), Luckeneder – Flecker (83. Stojkovic), Horvath, Jovicic (83. Berisha), Andrade – Usor, Ljubicic (91. Copado), Havel (Pintor 78.)