7/20/2024

LASK Celebrates Home Victory in Season Opener

With a successful experience, LASK concluded their summer preparations: During the season opening match against SKN St. Pölten, the athletes celebrated a 2-0 victory in front of 3,200 spectators at the Raiffeisen Arena, thanks to goals from Florian Flecker (68th minute) and Marin Ljubicic (95th minute). In the final stages, Rene Renner made his comeback after a long injury break.

In their usual formation and with the two new signings, Melayro Bogarde and Hrvoje Smolcic, in the four-man defense, LASK coach Thomas Darazs began the final test before the start of the competitive season. From the outset, the Linz team appeared dominant and controlled the game, although there were occasional unnecessary turnovers. Despite this, the athletes created a number of good scoring opportunities. Just four minutes in, captain Robert Zulj missed from close range after a setup by Usor, denied by St. Pölten goalkeeper Tom Hülsmann. Florian Flecker narrowly missed the goal following a cross from Bello (16th minute), and Bogarde couldn't convert a rebound from a corner (22nd minute).

The Linz defense largely had the opponents under control, with the Lower Austrians only threatening Tobias Lawal's goal twice. Marcel Ritzmaier was thwarted by the LASK goalkeeper on a direct free kick (27th minute), and seven minutes before the break, Winfred Amoah's cross from the left hit the side netting. For the home team, Bello (32nd minute), Usor (32nd minute), and Flecker (39th minute) all narrowly missed their targets.

Overdue Lead and Celebrated Comeback

After the break, LASK became even more dominant, playing with greater passing accuracy and better positioning, which allowed them to control the ball more securely and create more opportunities in the desired areas. The Black and Whites further increased their already significant number of chances: Usor narrowly missed the far post (47th minute), and both he and Bogarde were denied by the opposing goalkeeper seven minutes later. Marin Ljubicic also missed after winning a high ball thanks to clever pressing.

The patient wait of the 3,200 fans for the first goal ended after 68 minutes: Usor once again powered through on the right, serving Flecker in the middle, who easily scored the overdue 1-0. There was more reason to celebrate in the final stages: Rene Renner made his comeback after more than seven months out due to injury, taking the field for the first time since December 3rd. In stoppage time, Marin Ljubicic made it 2-0 by netting a rebound from a Usor shot (95th minute). With this result, Linz remains unbeaten after six friendly matches, with three wins and three draws. The competitive season begins on Friday with the cup match in Ried against Union Gurten.

LASK – SKN St. Pölten 2:0 (0:0)
Raiffeisen Arena, 3200, SR Haselbruner
Goals: 1:0 Flecker (68.), 2:0 Ljubicic (95.)

Line-up LASK: Lawal – Bogarde, Ziereis, Smolcic, Bello (81. Renner) – Berisha (81. Copado), Jovicic – Usor, Zulj (K/61. Horvath), Flecker (73. Pintor) – Ljubicic

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St. Pölten was a very good test opponent, providing exactly the kind of challenge we are likely to face frequently in the championship. It will be an important step for us to remain patient against such opponents. In the first half, you could sense a bit of restlessness in the team because we hadn't taken the lead yet. However, we have 90 minutes to win a game, so we need to become a bit cooler and more confident in such situations.

Thomas Darazs, Head Coach