UEFA Conference League Matchday 2: Olimpija Ljubljana 2-0 LASK

After success in the Bundesliga against Austria Klagenfurt and WSG Tirol, Markus Schopp’s LASK side had built-up a six-game unbeaten run ahead of the trip to Slovenia to face NK Olimpija. One point was already in the UEFA Conference League account following the opening draw at home to Djurgårdens IF, but with a loyal following of fans behind the team, LASK were looking for all three points in Ljubljana on Thursday evening.

It wouldn’t take long for Melayro Bogarde to get the first shot on target once play was underway, but his low, long-range effort was an easy gather for the home keeper three-minutes in, before the LASK defence was called into action to repel a dangerous attack from the right flank soon after. With both teams still testing the waters early on, captain Robert Žulj glanced a header onto the roof of the Olimpija net, and Adil Taoui got into a great position on the right of the area, but his chipped cross was just too high for his team mates. With the away side in the ascendancy, it was a sucker-punch to see a quick break lead to Alex Blanco poking in a neat finish at the near post for 1-0 (14’).

With the turf cutting up at the Stadion Stožice, both sides found it hard to keep control of a bobbling ball in midfield, meaning that scoring chances were hard to come by for a while. Once a Taoui cross forced keeper Vidovšek to make a diving stop on the half-hour mark, the game then suddenly came to life again; Jörg Siebenhandl had to spring athletically to his left to tip a curling Pedro Lucas effort onto the far post, before Žulj’s close-range header in the box remarkably came back off the boot of the airborne keeper, and as Taoui found only the side-netting on the rebound LASK remained one down at the break.

Effective passing in the centre of the park was still proving difficult on a soft surface full of divots, but heavy pressure from Olimpija players was affording the away team very little time or space to work with after the restart, and by the time Marin Ljubičić and Florian Flecker were brought on, nearly 15 minutes had gone by without any big chances. The fresh legs of the LASK forward so nearly brought about the equaliser after 65 minutes though; Max Entrup’s long shot was spilled by the keeper, and Ljubičić darted in first to win the loose ball, but his shot was kept out by a combination of the keeper and a recovering defender’s hand. It was a let-off for Ljubljana.

The guests continued to spend more time on the front foot in search of a leveller, and from a corner kick Hrvoje Smolčić sent a header bouncing just wide of the post with a quarter of an hour to go. LASK just needed something to fall their way in attack, but instead, the fortune would fall the other way. A soft foul gave the hosts a free-kick, and the delivery was played back across goal for Pedro Lucas to slide in and score from almost on the line. 2-0 (81’).

Leading by two, Olimpija were able to see out the win over the remaining minutes, condemning LASK to their first defeat in this year’s League Phase. There were good moments for the guests before each of the goals conceded, but ultimately the team didn’t do enough to earn a point, and now attentions will turn swiftly towards a big Bundesliga clash against SK Sturm Graz on Sunday.

By Tom Middler from The Other Bundesliga (@OtherBundesliga)

NK Olimpija Ljubljana – LASK 2:0 (1:0)
Stadion Stozice, SR Chiffi
Goals: 1:0 Blanco (14.), 2:0 Pedro Lucas (80.)
Yellow cards: Sualehe, Boultam, Pedro Lucas; Bogarde, Flecker

Line-up LASK: Siebenhandl – Stojkovic (78. Boateng), Ziereis, Talovierov (67. Smolcic), Bello – Bogarde, Jovicic (67. Horvath) – Taoui (57. Flecker), Zulj, Berisha (57. Ljubicic) – Entrup