ASVÖ SK Liefering is a classic example of a sports club that catered to past generations. Ripped up tennis courts and a mostly redundant tartan running track which separates the spectators of football matches from the main pitch in the middle. Beer and food sales could have been doubled if the staff at the bar had thought about taking their products, beer, shandy and bread cakes, to the masses. However, if it was hot for us it was hot for them too.
Yesterday’s game in Lieferung was very much part of the run-up to the summer holidays. Neither side anything to play for other than self-esteem with a limited Liefering side at least prepared to do the initial running on a hot, sunny day better suited for barbeques and beach parties. 350 fans, the smallest turnout of the season, had obviously come for the latter. No singing, no chanting, just a few beers in the sun – and why not?
Unfortunately the atmosphere was contagious and for the first twenty Austria Salzburg seemed content to jog around and make football-like movements. Liefering, knowing their pitch is better suited to barbecues and agriculture than to intelligent football, caught the Austria Salzburg players out on a number of occasions with cheap and cheerful counter-attack football; long balls and high balls for their strikers to sprint on to. With Austria unable to move up a gear the inevitable goal for Liefering came on 10 minutes.
The loudest audible crowd reaction was a collective sigh of ‘whatever!’ On the pitch Austria’s tempers got a bit frayed as they were still trying to play football on a rugby pitch. After a close shave, a Michi Geier fit of rage, and a near 2 – 0 for the hosts the away team finally cottoned on to playing more incisive passes and spreading out in midfield. After 30 minutes Liefering’s blitz attacks on goal seemed to have run out of steam and Mario Lenz’s goal underlined the turn in the balance of play. Grumpy Geier forced the point on 43 minutes with an adrenaline fuelled run at the defence as he put the Austria ahead.
The back end of half time was spent trying to work out which queue would get me a beer the fastest as it wasn’t clear to everyone whether they could get beer or just soft drinks on the left. Somewhere in the mists of time signs were invented signs so that people could stand in the right queues, but some people like you to wait five minutes before they tell you you’re in the wrong queue. I can’t imagine how they would have dealt with 900 fans if this fixture had been held here at the start of the season.
Of course, overjoyed at having finally got my half-time beer I figured I’d buy myself one of those nice new purple polo shirts with the thin white hoops. After a short discussion with the vendors on the pricing system we got down to business and I got the t-shirt I was after; after all, I do want to look my best at the championship and promotion celebrations next week. Vanity cost me the opportunity to see Lenz’s second making it 3 – 1. Not wanting to miss any more of this gripping duel I hurried back to my bench in time to see Oliver Trappl’s 4 – 1 and Lenz round off his hat trick for the final score of 5 – 1. Three beers, a sunny afternoon, a t-shirt and a 5 – 1 away win; life’s hard!
Roger Lord
SV Austria Salzburg:
A. Trappl; Weiss (59. Kluth), Würnstl, Csenki; Neubauer, Pecaranin, Federer, Geier; O. Trappl (75. Groiss), Lenz, Seywald (59. Auer)
Goals:
1:0: König (10.)
1:1: Lenz (30.)
1:2: Geier (43.)
1:3: Lenz (56.)
1:4: O. Trappl (66.)
1-:5: Lenz (68.)
