Goalless draw against FK TSC

Austria Wien drew 0-0 with Conference League side FK TSC from the Serbian city of Bačka Topola in the second test match of the training camp. The Violets created several top chances but were unable to score a deserved goal.

With the sun shining brightly on Thursday afternoon, coach Stephan Helm made a few changes from the 2-1 win against NŠ Mura. Johannes Handl and Tin Plavotić replaced Philipp Wiesinger and Matteo Meisl in the back three, while Andreas Gruber started up front for Maurice Malone.

Plenty of chances in the first half

The Violets got off to a good start, with Reinhold Ranftl, Johannes Handl, Dominik Fitz and Andreas Gruber combining down the right-hand side into the danger zone after just four minutes, but the Serbs finally managed to clear the ball for a corner. Shortly afterwards it was Gruber again, this time intercepting an inaccurate pass and sprinting towards goal, the ball passed via Fitz to Abubakr Barry, whose header landed over the goal (8'). A pass from Nik Prelec was intercepted by the opposing keeper (11') and a shot from Plavotić with his weak right foot sailed past the far corner (18'). At the other end, TSC made their first dangerous appearance in front of Samuel Şahin-Radlinger in the 22nd minute, but the Serbian captain's shot was saved by the Violets' keeper.

Things then got wild in the 24th minute: After a counter-attack down the right and Ranftl's pass in, Fitz was felled in the penalty area - the referee immediately awarded a penalty. The violet number 36 failed to beat the goalkeeper, but the assistant raised the flag because the keeper was said to have moved too early. The referee nevertheless allowed play to continue with a corner kick. The Serbs then got into the game better and made it more difficult for the Violets, but without becoming dangerous themselves. Shortly before the break, Austria had a great chance to take a deserved lead. Fitz broke through on the left and played Gruber into the penalty area, but he was denied by the goalkeeper's strong foot save (44').

The game remained dominant after the break

The Violet coaching team made seven changes at the break, with only Dragović, Plavotić, Ranftl and Fitz remaining on the pitch. The Violets created their first dangerous opportunity shortly afterwards when Hakim Guenouche advanced into the penalty area on the left and crossed to the middle, but Malone came up one step short (66'). Malone suffered a similar fate in the 78th minute after a fine ball from Fitz, but again the Serbian goalkeeper was quicker to the ball.

A few minutes before the end, the 24-year-old then had the winner in his grasp: After a strong pass from Marvin Potzmann, Malone rounded the keeper, took a turn in front of a defender and then narrowly missed the goal (86'). The last action of the game belonged to the Serbs, but Mirko Kos did not have to intervene with a free-kick from a good position (90'). The score remained 0-0.

Stephan Helm: "We came up against a good opponent today, who have also performed well in the Conference League, and I was excited to see how they would handle it today. But we made it difficult for them, were dominant, had good chances and the players always remained positive and coached each other, even in the few tricky situations. The last few days have been intense, but we've found the right dose. The team threw everything into it again today, we can be happy."

FK TSC - Austria Wien 0-0

Austria, 1st half: Şahin-Radlinger - Handl, Dragović, Plavotić - Ranftl, Fischer ©, Barry, Pérez Vinlöf - Fitz - Gruber, Prelec

2nd half: Kos - Wiesinger, Dragović (Meisl 60.), Plavotić (Pazourek 60.) - Ranftl ©, Potzmann, Wels, Guenouche - Fitz - Raguž, Malone

Goalkeeper Kenan Jusić, Lucas Galvão (tendon problems), Philipp Maybach and Konstantin Aleksa (both slightly injured) were not in the squad.