Titel chance over after defeat

From the 25th minute onward, Linz also found their footing. Alex Schlager reacted quickly to deny a dangerous shot from Cisse following a free kick. Then the game turned in the decisive phase before the break. In the 33rd minute, a throw-in from Usor was headed on by Tornich into the danger zone, and Adeniran nodded home to make it 1-0. LASK drew new energy from this: Just three minutes later, another throw-in proved decisive, and Andrade curled the ball against the post, with Jörgensen pouncing on the rebound to make it 2-0.

The second half started slowly. Linz managed their lead comfortably, and we struggled to find a way through them. Kerim Alajbegovic finally provided a glimmer of hope with a powerful long-range shot that hit the post (56'), and he tried again in the 70th minute with a dangerous long-range effort.

Daniel Beichler made some substitutions, including Karim Konate who distributed instructions from the coaching staff to his team-mates on notes. The first signs of life were immediately apparent. In the 71st minute, Eddie Baidoo laid the ball off to Onisiwo, who, however, was unlucky to shoot from close range. Three minutes later, Baidoo himself hit the crossbar with a hapless volley from the six-yard box. The consolation goal finally came from a throw-in: Drexler launched the ball deep into the center, where Konate headed it home to make it 1-2 (87'). However, that was all we could muster today.

Despite the victory, LASK haven't sealed the title just yet, as Sturm Graz also won their match. After this evening, it's clear to us that first and second place, and thus Champions League qualification, are no longer attainable. We now have to defend third place on the final matchday. This coming Sunday, we host Hartberg at 14:30 CEST at the Red Bull Arena for our final match of the season. As part of our Family Matchday, we are offering free children's tickets and a full programme of activities starting at 11:30.

€12,200 raised for a good cause

As part of the Wings for Life World Run, which also took place today, we ran together today for a good cause. Together we covered 121.93 kilometers, which corresponds to a donation of €12,200 to the Wings for Life Foundation, which directly funds spinal cord research.

Views

We got off to a good start, had the game under control, but we knew that LASK are strong at set pieces. We were inattentive there, then we conceded, and immediately afterwards, it was 0-2. That was the end of our 30 decent minutes. Our goal came too late. Today it was definitely a lack of efficiency, as two or three more chances should have gone in. You have to make them count.

Karim Onisiwo

The coaching team set us up well, but in reality, we threw away our chance with two or three set pieces. We were too complacent and therefore didn't deserve it – no matter how well we started. We lost nothing in the title race that way. Now we have to prepare for next season so we're better equipped!

Stefan Lainer

Match summary

Line-ups & substitutions

LASK: Jungwirth – Cisse, Tornich, Andrade – Jörgensen (90. Flecker), Bogarde, Horvath ©, Bello – Kalajdzic (61. Danek) – Usor (64. Lang), Adeniran (90. Mbuyamba)

**FC Red Bull Salzburg:**Schlager © – Lainer, Schuster, Drexler, Krätzig (86. Aguilar) – Diabate (70. Baidoo) – Kitano, Kjaergaard – Redzic (55. Alajbegovic), Onisiwo, Vertessen (70. Konate)

Referee: Markus Hameter

Goals: Adeniran (33.), Jörgensen (36.) - Konate (87.)

Yellow cards: Danek (88./Foul), Cisse (90.+2/Unsporting behavour) - None

Attendance: TBC

Personelles

• Mads Bidstrup (calf), Takumu Kawamura (knee), Oliver Lukic (back) and Justin Omoregie (shoulder) were unavailable for this match.