LASK loses against Hartberg

The Athletiker stuck with the same starting lineup as in their 3-1 home victory over RB Salzburg, with the only change being the return of Sascha Horvath to the 18-man squad after his injury last week. The first opportunity in the third season duel between the two teams fell to the guests, as Donis Avdijaj missed after a Linz turnover in the build-up to a quick counterattack (3'). After that, the game developed into one where LASK enjoyed plenty of possession but struggled to penetrate into the final third, partly due to lacking pace, courage, and decisiveness.

In contrast, Hartberg executed their counterattacks precisely and swiftly, constantly challenging the Linz defense. After 22 minutes, the Styrians took the lead: Jürgen Heil delivered a cross unhindered, which Maximilian Entrup failed to connect with but still managed to find its way into the far corner somewhat fortuitously. Just minutes before halftime, the East Styrians delivered the second blow: Entrup received the ball in the penalty area, made two quick moves, and beat Tobias Lawal with a shot into the left corner (44'). Prior to that, Branko Jovicic had been substituted off due to injury and replaced by Horvath.

Coach Thomas Darazs reacted in the dressing room by moving Andres Andrade into midfield and shifting to a 4-3-3 formation. The Linz team now tried to act with more determination, pushing forward into the attacking zone more frequently, although they initially struggled to create significant chances. An outstanding effort from Florian Flecker eventually brought LASK back into the game: After Marin Ljubicic's shot was blocked, our number 29 followed up decisively and converted the rebound to make it 1-2 (57').

However, the subsequent efforts to equalize suffered another setback after 75 minutes. Following a quick combination down the right side, the just-substituted Dominik Prokop slotted home to make it 1-3. LASK kept fighting until the end, attempting to narrow the gap, but they couldn't create any noteworthy scoring opportunities. As a result, the Black and Whites suffered their first defeat in the third home game of the Bundesliga championship group and must continue to wait for their first full victory against Hartberg since June 2020. The opportunity for redemption comes swiftly with the rematch on Wednesday (18:30).

LASK - TSV Hartberg 1:3 (0:2)
Goals: 0:1 Heil (22.), 0:2 Entrup (44.), 1:2 Flecker (57.), 1:3 Prokop (75.)
Yellow Cards: Bello (37.), Ziereis (39.), Horvath (45+3.), Ljubicic (63.), Trainer Darazs (67.); Komposch (38.), Fillafer (50.)

Line-up LASK: Lawal – Ziereis (K), Andrade, Luckeneder (81. Talovierov) – Stojkovic, Berisha (81. Havel), Jovicic (32. Horvath), Bello – Usor (64. Pintor), Ljubicic (81. Taoui), Flecker