So anyway, having been robbed of a real summer it’s easy to understand anyone who, on a sunny early autumn afternoon, has better things to do than stand around and drink beer and watch their favourite team thrash some relegation bait. OK; I couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to spend their afternoon anywhere else, but that’s because I’d already been up and down the Schafberg by the time I got to the ground. For a normal person that might have been enough exertion for one day, but I organised my day in such a way (getting up at 06:30) as to be able to fit in a mountain and see Austria Salzburg. By 5 o’clock in the afternoon I was fairly knackered, but after letting myself down the previous Saturday I simply HAD to be there. This time I had the benefit of both of my chosen football advisors – Raph and Drax – so I knew I would be able to moan in good company.
‘Hat trick Patrick’ Mayer was in the starting line-up, having got three against St. Johann in the cup. With him and Marko Vujic we have two players who can hold up the ball, move it on and score goals. Mayer is the man with the rocket in his pocket and what the German language refers to as a ‘Drang zum Tor’, which roughly translates as ‘has a go whenever he can’ – something we’ve missed in the past. Compared to last year we are certainly beginning to look stronger in every part of the field.
Bang! Raphael Reifeltshammer’s forehead connects with a Borozni corner and it’s 1-0 to the Austria after just 4 minutes. Just 4 minutes later it’s 2-0 when Rocket Man converts a cross provided by Märzendorfer. As good as our approach play was, it was Seekirchen that allowed us to open them up. Classic signs of relegation candidacy are indecision and fear. Do I go for the tackle or get between the opponent and the goal? Do I go for the header or wait for the ball to drop? Do I make a run or do I stay back? They tried to start the game by pushing up the field, but didn’t have the belief to back it up. That was the story of Seekirchen’s first 8 minutes and from then on it looked very much like an exercise in damage limitation. Now they were just playing to survive and there was very little in the way of cogent build-up play from the away team and the focus was on breaking down our attacks. As attractive and complex as it was, our attack play tended – as it always does – to be a product of chance, an opening here, an opening there, but there is rarely a true element of surprise.
I sound like a spoilt kid, I know, but it took us until the 27th minute before Vujic got on the end of Federer’s cross to put us 3-0 up. Ultimately, these are the moments in a game which define your season. After going 2-0 or 3-0 up; do you push to destroy them 10-0 or do you shore up at the back and take the points? We did the honourable thing and tried to shaft them silly, but the fact is to pull a team apart that is purely concentrating on defending and can only hope to attack on the break – you need the element of surprise. Lull them into a false sense of security for 5 minutes, pull them out of position, then strike. Position for position we are much improved in key areas of the field, but we so rarely rip teams apart with one-touch passing combinations because we crowd midfield and are often pushed up so far that there are 21 players in one half of the pitch. I don’t know of any other team that does what we do.
In the 70s, when all the other British teams were kicking the shit out of each other, Liverpool were passing the ball and winning European cups. Spain made Holland look like petulant school kids in the World Cup final and didn’t let them near the ball. Ultimately, anybody who saw Barcelona demolish Man Utd. in the Champions League final knows the truth. It was as painful as seeing your girlfriend in bed with your best friend; because it was so obviously true – so undeniable. Intelligently structured, quick-passing one-touch football is the future! That’s the quantum leap we have to take! That’s the name of the game.
Half-time: Austria Salzburg 3 – Seekirchen 0
After quickly conferring with my panel of experts the consensus was that we would win 4-1 or 5-1. I suppose I have to admit that for us it was a hot and pleasant afternoon, so it was no surprise that the second half wasn’t a continuation of the firework display seen in the first 20 minutes. Seekirchen avoided doing us the favour of offering their heads on a silver platter, instead remaining fairly compact. Apart from a couple of breaks down their right side Seekirchen were incredibly harmless and the most dangerous thing I saw in the whole game was Sonko Pa’s attempt to clear a ball at full power – through an opponent’s face. Fortunately he missed, but as far as Seekirchen are concerned, I can’t see who’s going to score the goals that will keep them in the Westliga.
On 55 minutes Dusan ‘the man’ Pavlovic was brought on for an excellent Klaus Märzendorfer. If Nico Mayer is our Kaka, then Pavlovic is Messi. It’s not modern, but it’s wonderful to watch as he dances backward and forwards past three of four players and ultimately he is the player that can jig his way past last ditch tackles if he’s allowed to play a more offensive role. So jiggy, jiggy, dribbly, dribbly 4-0! Pavlovic on 73 minutes.
By this time – actually from much earlier on – Seekirchen’s subs bench seemed to be hiding somewhere behind the hedge. As the game crept to a close Seekirchen looked to have accepted their fate and we felt confident enough to throw caution to the wind. On 81 minutes Marko Vujic made it 5-0, equalling the score we got against a slightly better Seekirchen team this time last year.
Full time: Austria Salzburg 5 – Seekirchen 0
Ultimately our season will not be judged on the games we win at home; it will be judged on the points we can bring back home with us. So far we seem to have won the games we won last year and lost the games we lost last year. As usual, I am on an away ban, as next Saturday I would have to miss another 40th birthday to go to Bregenz. Mrs Columbo would not approve!
By the way, congratulations to our keeper, Alex Trappl, for winning the vote for the best amateur player in Austria with over 15,000 votes – so as you can see there are more Austria Salzburg fans than you think!
All the best - Roge
SV Austria Salzburg - SV Seekirchen 5-0 (3-0)
Austria Salzburg played with:
Trappl; Kreuzwirth, Sonko, Reifeltshammer, Hirsch (62. Kircher); Borozni, N. Mayer, Federer (55. Pavlovic), Märzendorfer (55. Kletzl); P. Mayer, Vujic
Goals:
1-0: Reifeltshammer (4.) (Assist: Borozni, Eckball)
2-0: P. Mayer (8.) (Assist: Märzendorfer)
3-0: Vujic (26.) (Assist: Federer)
4-0: Pavlovic (77.) (Assist: Kletzl)
5-0: Vujic (83.
Shots total: Austria 22 / Seekirchen 6
Shots on target:Austria 12 / Seekirchen 2
Shots blocked: Austria 2 / Seekirchen 2
Corners: Austria 6 / Seekirchen 5
Fouls: Austria 17 / Seekirchen 26
Offsides: Austria 2 / Seekirchen 6
Yellow cards:
Austria: 3 (Hirsch, 15./Foul; Kreuzwirth, 40./Foul; Reifeltshammer, 68./Foul)
Seekirchen: 3 (Gürcan, 47./Foul; Stockinger, 67./unsporting behaviour; Ritschel, 68./Foul)
Salzburg-Maxglan, MyPhone-Austria-Stadion, 1050 Zuschauer
Ref: Reuf Salihovic
