FC Pinzgau Saalfelden 1-1 SV Austria Salzburg; Rathgeb (12‘); Ziege (Own Goal) (6’)
FC Pinzgau Saalfelden and SV Austria Salzburg both had to settle for a 1-1 draw after an exciting and intense afternoon at the Saalfelden Arena.
From the first minute of the game, the match was played with high intensity, as has become custom in matches between Pinzgau Saalfelden and Austria Salzburg over the previous seasons.
It did not take long until Jonas Schwaighofer appeared dangerously in the visitors’ penalty area for the first time but put the ball a bit too far in front of him. Straight on the counter, Alessandro Ziege unfortunately deflected a sharp cross into his own goal to put Austria Salzburg into an early lead.
After another top chance by Salzburg, the home side equalised. A great corner by Brazilian midfielder Joao Pedro found David Rathgeb was in the right place and pushed the ball over the line with his head at the back post. The tempo remained high, but it was Christian Ziege’s side who had the better chances: Christopher Fürstaller’s shot from an acute angle missed the far corner by a hair’s breadth. Shortly before the end of the first half, it was again Fürstaller who missed from a promising position.
After a harmless warning shot by Salzburg, the Pinzgauers took control of the contest and the chances kept on coming. After a long bal forward, Tamas Tandari took the ball with him but failed to beat the goalkeeper. However, on the hour mark, FCPS were lucky when Johannes Zottl was careless with a good chance to shoot. In the 71st minute captain Tandari tried to take the match by the scruff of the neck and tested the goalkeeper who had his work cut out with a long-range shot. In the final phase, Pinzgau Saalfelden once again threw everything forward and desperately wanted their fourth home win. However, their efforts were not rewarded, and “only” managed to win the point. A top game between two top sides.
STATEMENT
“It was a committed performance by our team. Austria Salzburg was, as expected, a difficult opponent, but we had them well under control for long stretches of the game and created some chances. In the second half, however, Austria had a really good phase and we had problems. Both teams had the chances to decide the game. Unfortunately, we often lack the necessary calmness in front of the goal in the decisive situations – that often makes it difficult,” Christian Ziege summed up.
LINE-UP
Schröcker; Kitahara, Mühlbacher, Ziege, Adjei; Schwaighofer (Ocampo-Chavez 72‘), Moosmann, Joao Pedro, Rathgeb (Aydinhan 63‘); Fürstaller, Tandari