After being awarded the license for the upcoming season in the first instance, Vienna Austria also achieved an important victory in sporting terms. The much-vaunted Violets won 1-0 in their first match of the qualifiers at the WAC on Saturday and are now four points ahead of Corinthians. Andreas Gruber (11th) scored the golden goal in front of 3,649 spectators at the Lavandal Arena for Austria's first win in the fourth game since the league split. Wolfsburg's Tierno Ballo saw yellow-red (65th).
WSG Tirol took a big step towards staying in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over newly promoted Blau-Weiß Linz. Coach Thomas Silberberger's side, who left in the summer, moved up to fourth in the table and extended their lead over bottom side Austria Lustenau to eight points. Match-winner for the Tyroleans was Mohamed Tiara with a brace (4th, 50th). The Lynxers, now without a win in twelve games, managed to score again after four goalless games thanks to Kristijan Topras (75th).
In the new league finals, the Linzers are five points ahead of Austria Lustenau after a 1-0 loss in the Vorarlberg derby against SCR Altach. 5,000 fans at Lunstenau's substitute venue Bregenz played patiently with extreme caution. Altach played more of the game, but mainly relayed the ball in the midfield and played in the danger zone. Thanks to a late goal from “Joker” Sofian Bahlol (80th), SCR heads into the last six rounds with an eight-point lead over its local rivals.
A streak of draws in the first three rounds of the lower play-offs came to an abrupt end. With six rounds to go, things are getting tight for bottom team Lustena (7 points). Coach Andreas Herroff's side are five points behind Linz (12), who also have a star on their loan side. WSG and Altach (15 each) already seem out of reach. The Lustenauers now travel to Wolfsberg next week, while the Blau-Weiß travel to Altach. Vienna Austria welcomes WSG Tirol.
