Winning Run Continues

LASK made a lively start to the match and created their first big chance to take the lead as early as the third minute. Sascha Horvath found himself with plenty of space ahead and charged forward at pace before getting a shot off inside the box – a Tirol defender deflected the effort out for a corner. That very corner nearly led to the opener, but Andres Andrade's header was safely collected by WSG goalkeeper Adam Stejskal. LASK, who were missing Philipp Ziereis (injured) and George Bello (ill) and had Keba Cisse and Melayro Bogarde filling in, continued to apply pressure. They looked to move the ball forward quickly with minimal touches and impressed with their strong counter-pressing. The next chance again fell to Horvath, whose first-time effort sailed over the bar in the 16th minute.

Around the midway point of the first half, the Athletiker's intensity eased slightly as Tirol adapted better to the home side's game. However, WSG rarely posed a threat in front of goal. LASK, on the other hand, remained dangerous, with Robert Zulj going close after a brilliant through ball from Andrade in the 32nd minute. Toward the end of the half, LASK picked up the tempo once more, resulting in a Danek header over the bar (42'), a volley from Entrup that met the same fate (45'), and a Zulj effort in stoppage time, which was calmly handled by the Tirol goalkeeper.

LASK stepped up their game again after the restart and were rewarded in the 50th minute with a well-deserved opener. Following a cross from Zulj, the WSG defense failed to clear the ball. Christoph Lang reacted quickest, regained possession inside the box, and fired home his second goal of the season to make it 1–0. But the Linzers weren’t done yet. Just three minutes later, they struck again. This time, it was Melayro Bogarde who played a ball in from the left toward the center of the penalty area. There, Robert Zulj showed all his class, skillfully pushing the ball past his marker and calmly slotting it in with the inside of his foot – his sixth goal of the season – to make it 2–0.

After the double blow, LASK eased off slightly, while WSG started committing more players forward. Goalkeeper Tobias Lawal was called into action, making a strong save on a header from Osarenren Okungbowa. Moments later, Cisse and Andrade came to the rescue with last-ditch defending. On the other end, substitute Florian Flecker came close twice to adding a third. First, he fired over the bar in the 74th minute, and later, from a free-kick, was denied by an excellent save from Stejskal. The final whistle sealed a 2–0 win – LASK’s fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory without conceding a goal. This marked just the fourth time in their top-flight history (after 1961, 1985, and 2019) that the Linzers managed such a run.

LASK – WSG Tirol 2:0 (0:0)
Raiffeisen Arena, 9100, Referee Jakob Semler
Goals: 1:0 Lang (50.), 2:0 Zulj (53.)
Yellow Cards: Zulj, Cisse; Okungbowa, Naschberger

Line-up LASK: Lawal (C) – Jovicic, Cisse, Andrade, Bogarde – Ljubic (78. Coulibaly), Horvath – Danek (66. Mustapha), Zulj (88. Pintor), Lang (66. Flecker) – Entrup (78. Adeniran)