LASK Loses First Derby of the Season

Despite the continuous heavy rain, the first Linz derby of the season was able to kick off as scheduled, with referee Harald Lechner in charge. Head coach Markus Schopp made six changes to the lineup for his first match on the sidelines compared to the previous game against Wolfsberger AC, with Alexis Tibidi earning his first start. The pattern of the match quickly became clear and remained throughout the first half: LASK dominated possession, attempting to build up play but struggled to gain ground. Blau-Weiß Linz kept the spaces tight and waited for quick counterattacking opportunities.

One such opportunity led to the opening goal for the hosts. After a turnover in midfield, Blau-Weiß broke through on the right side, and a cross behind the defense was tapped in by Ronivaldo (16th minute). The home side created more chances during this phase, but the packed away section almost had reason to celebrate after 24 minutes. A first-time volley by Branko Jovicic narrowly missed the target. Seven minutes before the break, Tibidi got on the end of a Taoui cross with a header, but it lacked both power and direction.

The second half started on a sour note for LASK as goalkeeper Tobias Lawal sustained an injury during a goal kick, without any opponent's involvement, and had to be substituted in the 54th minute. Despite this setback, the Black and Whites responded with a double chance: Taoui played a perfect through ball to Moses Usor, but he was denied by Blau-Weiß goalkeeper Radek Vitek (58th minute). Just seconds later, Vitek was again up to the task, stopping Filip Stojkovic’s effort.

Head coach Markus Schopp made several tactical changes throughout the second half, leaving no stone unturned. Among them, 19-year-old academy product Armin Haider made his second Bundesliga appearance, following his debut in the 5-0 win over Rapid last season, while fellow 19-year-old Oumar Diallo made his professional debut. However, LASK struggled to create further chances, while on the opposite end, Lawal's replacement, Jörg Siebenhandl, made two crucial saves to prevent another goal.

In the closing stages, substitute Maksym Talovierov had two key opportunities in the opposing box. Vitek blocked his first attempt, and his follow-up header narrowly missed the target. These were LASK’s final chances to equalize.

FC Blau-Weiß Linz – LASK 1:0 (1:0)
Hofmann Personal Stadion, SR Lechner
Goal: 1:0 Ronivaldo (16.)
Yellow Cards: Ronivaldo, Briedl; Smolcic, Taoui
Red Card: Mensah (91.)

Line-up LASK: Lawal (54. Siebenhandl) – Stojkovic, Ziereis, Smolcic (68. Talovierov), Bello – Berisha, Jovicic (78. Diallo) – Usor, Taoui (68. Haider), Tibidi (54. Bogarde) – Ljubicic