3:2 win against Spartak Trnava

James Holland and Matthias Braunöder were missing with slight injuries, while Dominik Fitz and Dejan Radonjic were ill. All of the fit squad players collected minutes of action. The match saw a reunion with our former striker Marco Djuricin, who has been under contract with the third-placed team in the Slovakian league since the summer of 2023 (on loan from HNK Rijeka) and started against Austria.

Romeo Vucic came down the right flank at speed shortly after the start of the match and shot just wide of the far corner (1st). Mirko Kos made a one-on-one save at the other end (10'). Fisnik Asllani finished off a good dribble from the edge of the sixteen after being played in by Manfred Fischer (18). Shortly before the break, Lucas Galvao converted a Potzmann corner with his head for a 1-0 lead (44'), and Djuricin equalised from close range just two minutes later (45+1).

Shortly after the break, Alexander Schmidt had a great chance to take the lead after a quick counter-attack following a pass from Muki Huskovic (53'). Two minutes later, Manuel Polster gave the Violets a 2:1 lead with a sharp shot into the near corner (55') after further preparatory work from Huskovic.

Andreas Gruber tried his luck from distance (62'). Alex Schmidt finished from a good position after a sharp cross from Luca Pazourek (68'). In the 87th minute, Spartak Trnava equalised 2:2 with a penalty from Bainovic. Andreas Gruber scored the winner for the Violets in stoppage time with a precise shot after a pass from Pazourek (90+2).

Austria Vienna - Spartak Trnava 3:2 (1:1)

Line-up First half: Kos; Handl, Martins, Galvao; Ranftl, Fischer, Potzmann, Polster; Vucic, Asllani, Huskovic.
Line-up Second half: Kos; Handl, Plavotic, Galvao (60. Meisl); Ranftl (60. Pazourek), Fischer, Potzmann (60. Wels), Polster (60. Guenouche); Gruber, Schmidt, Huskovic (60. Silva).
Goals: Galvao (44.), Polster (55.), Gruber (90+2), respectively Djuricin (45+1), Bainovic (87.)

Coach Michael Wimmer: "We played a very good first half until the final third. We got into exactly the actions we've been training over the last few days, where we run towards the defence with dynamism. Now we have to become even more effective. I really liked the way the boys implemented the content from training. You could tell they were a bit tired at the end. I saw some good approaches."