Red Bull Salzburg today picked up a point in Altach with a 1-1 draw in the T-Mobile Bundesliga eleventh round. After a great first-half display had given them a deserved lead through a Vonlanthen strike, fortune deserted the champions with the hosts gaining a late equaliser from nowhere.
The Bulls came to Altach with high hopes and a perfect past record at the Schnabelholz Stadium: two wins in two matches and not a single goal conceded.
Salzburg, as expected, made a host of changes from the side that was swept aside in Athens: (4-5-1) Ochs; Bodnar, Sekagya, Vargas, Alex; Ilic, Kovac, Carboni, Aufhauser, Vonlanthen; Zickler.
Lazlo Bodnar therefore made a welcome return to the side after a knee injury had kept him on the sidelines since Christmas. Jorge Vargas was also recalled to the starting line-up for the first time in five matches.
Target man Alexander Zickler was fed through on goal twice in the opening minutes but was stopped by goalkeeper Mario Krassnitzer and then by Daniel Gramann. The Vorarlberg side are tough and determined from the word go, disrupting the Bulls’ attempts to weave a silky passing game.
10 minutes: Alex tests Krassnitzer with a decent free-kick but the Altach goalie clears the ball with a mighty punch.
The first quarter of an hour is difficult on the eye as the match is battled out in midfield with an obvious lack of creative gusto. Salzburg are enjoying most of the possession with Altach content to sit back and contain the visitors, limiting their forward drive to counter-attacks.
Laszlo Bodnar is bringing some genuine pizzazz to the right flank, firing in some devilish crosses.
22 minutes: The champions have their first major chance. A right-sided Vonlanthen corner drops to Zickler, whose close range shot is parried by Krassnitzer. Ilic looks to pounce on the rebound but fires again at the Altach keeper.
The Bulls continue to push forward with more than 60 per cent of the possession, but a breakthrough has eluded them up to now thanks to a stubborn Altach defence. The champions are clearly hungrily hunting an opening goal.
29 minutes: The threatened Salzburg opener finally arrives. A clever attack on the right sees the ball flying between Bodnar and Ilic to Zickler. The German striker plays through to Vonlanthen and the Swiss international slots home to clinch a deserved 1-0 lead.
36 minutes: Vonlanthen has an opportunity to strike again with the Swiss star just failing to convert an Aufhauser through ball. Bodnar is enjoying an immense return to Salzburg colours, having won all of his four challenges, shooting twice and starting the move that led to the goal.
Sekagya sees yellow on 39 minutes for tossing the ball away after conceding a free-kick.
Kovac tries an auditions flying header in the 45th minute but the ball flies just wide. The Croatian national captain has been defending doggedly today and looks in great touch going forward.
It’s 0-1 to the champions at half-time in front of 7,000 at the Schnabelholz stadium.
The half-time break appears to have reinvigorated Altach, who are pushing forward like a new side.
Altach are even creating some goalmouth danger, Timo Ochs defusing the worst of it with a superb reflex save from a close-range Bernardi shot. Roland Kirchler and Pablo Chinchilla then share a trio of headed efforts on the Salzburg goal.
After 58 minutes Steinhöfer comes on to replace the disappointing Ilic.
Just like in the first half it takes the Bulls a few minutes to find their footing, after which they begin to create:
66 minutes: Krassnitzer reacts quickly after an Alex free-kick to deny Aufhauser.
68 minutes: Kovac nods just over.
70 minutes: Zickler lofts the ball in from out wide and it sails right over the head of Mario Krassnitzer, but Gramann gets back to the line to clear.
73 minutes: Vonlanthen goes close on the rebound.
After 75 minutes Krassnitzer plucks out a fierce drive that was bearing down on the inside of his near post, thus narrowly preventing a 2-0 Salzburg lead.
83 minutes: Altach grab a shock equaliser with a dream first Bundesliga goal from Daniel Gramann. The youngster lets fly from 40 yards and finds the top corner to clinch Altach’s first ever home goal against Red Bull Salzburg.
Giovanni Trapattoni reacts by bringing Lokvenc on for René Aufhauser as the Bulls look for a late strike to put them back on track to their first away win of the season. For their part, Altach threaten to nick a winner on the break.
The Champions fail in their hunt to land a winning blow. The 1-1 draw is Salzburg’s fourth draw in six away matches.
Giovanni Trapattoni: “The first half was excellent and we could have been further ahead at the break. That’s the way it is in football, getting the equaliser with a shot to nothing, even if it was a lovely one. We just didn’t have the strength to decisively alter the game again in the final stages.”
Heinz Hochhauser: “That was one of our better away matches. The team just performed a lot better. That we didn’t pick up a win was due to ill fortune, or maybe Gramann’s good fortune.”
