2-1 away win taken

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·16 de agosto de 2025

2-1 away win taken

Hard-fought win in Hartberg's temporary home

Our Red Bulls took a 2-1 win away at TSV Hartberg thanks to some effective finishing and goals from both Stefan Lainer and Petar Ratkov.

Match summary

The opening minutes were a cagey affair that saw our boys look for space to play in. There was no way through the Hartberg defensive ranks to begin with, but we could always try to threaten from set pieces. Maurits Kjaergaard swept a corner perfectly to the far post where Stefan Lainer rose in the air to head in (11').

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The Red Bulls threatened again via Edmund Baidoo, who didn't get enough on his free-kick effort to trouble Hülsmann in the Hartberg goal (18'). The hosts then launched a break that saw Havel lose his markers but fail to convert from around the penalty spot (19').

The statistics at the half-hour mark spoke volumes: with up to 80% possession and over 90 % passes completed along with a 5-1 lead on the shot count, our boys had a clear upper hand.

While our side looked to press on and extend their lead before the break, the hosts were hoping to level. A misplaced backpass from Jannik Schuster almost led to that, and Havel chased through on goal but Alex Schlager pulled off a super reflex save (35'). As Yorbe Vertessen couldn't convert an Alajbegovic through ball, we went into the break one-up (45').

After the change of ends, it was Manfred Schmid's side who took the initiative. Havel raced through our defence again and teed up his team-mate Drew perfectly, who slotted inside the far post for the equaliser (54').

Our boys weren't going to take that lying down and stepped up a gear, with Lainer threatening first and sending the ball just over (62') before Vertessen almost beat Hülsmann to the ball in front of the target (65'). The next effort counted though as Dorgeles Nene received a pass from Petar Ratkov, took aim on the turn and netted for 2-1 (67')!

With the lead behind them again, our Red Bulls did more for the game only for Hartberg's defenders and goalkeeper to get in the way - as few big chances came. Schlager was able to make three strong saves, with two solid stops to dney Hoffmann before getting in the way of a powerful Wilfinger drive as we clung on to the win.

The 2-1 success may have been narrow but gives us three big points for our league campaign.

Views

We weren't great today, but it was our fifth week in a row packed with fixtures. Hartberg had the better chances, and we were very lucky to win – but in the end we won, which is the most important thing in the short term. There were a lot of things we could have done much better, it was anything but a good performance – but we got three points.

Thomas Letsch

The start was promising, as we found our way in well and built up pressure. As the game progressed, we became increasingly uncertain, and we struggled to cope with their long balls – ultimately, we were fortunate to come away with the win. I am very pleased that I was able to score – with my head, which was not too bad.

Stefan Lainer

Match data

Line-ups & substitutions

TSV Hartberg: Hülsmann – Kovacevic, Vincze, Spendlhofer (82. Prokop), Wilfinger, Hennig – Gölles (60. Heil), Markus, Kainz © (82. Fillafer) – Drew (75. Hoffmann), Havel (75. Mijic) FC Red Bull Salzburg: Schlager – Terzic, Rasmussen (46. Gadou), Schuster, Lainer – Diambou, Bidstrup © – Kjaergaard (60. Nene), Alajbegovic (89. Diabate) – Baidoo (46. Ratkov), Vertessen (79. Daghim)

Goals: Drew (54.) - Lainer (11.), Ratkov (67.) Attendance: 1,653 Referee: Stefan Ebner Yellow cards: Kainz (14./ Foul), Hennig (40./Foul), Hülsmann (78./Dissent) - Gadou (49./Foul), Daghim (84./Unsporting behaviour)

Injury news

Not available for the match were Takumu Kawamura (knee), Sota Kitano (ankle), Karim Konate (knee), Frans Krätzig (thigh), John Mellberg (knee), Karim Onisiwo (thigh), Valentin Sulzbacher (thigh) and Christian Zawieschitzky (calf).