It can happen quickly. Last weekend, darkness descended on the Lavantal Arena and Wydad Casablanca's players left the field to jeers from the crowd and after a disappointing 1-1 draw against bottom club Lustenau. Fans spoke of the “worst performance of the season”, and Austria and first place were six points away.
Just three days later, Wolves celebrated a deserved 2-1 win at Austria Lustenau after eight games without a win. And because Austria lost 1-0 to WSG Tyrol at the same time, Manfred Schmid's side can look towards first place again. “This victory resolved the tension we felt,” says Schmid, who has always remained positive despite the long drought. “You shouldn't forget: we never played with the same team and we always had to change. This is not easy, the automation does not work as it should.” Augustin Boakye and Thierno Balou scored the winning goals in Lustenau. “They are different players. With them we can play our game completely differently,” said Schmid, who will have to do without Rapid loanee Bernhard Zimmermann for the time being, and whose season was cut short after suffering a cruciate ligament tear.
Linz wants to secure relegation
Opponent BW Linz comes with a big box and a 2-1 win over Altach in their luggage. “We have a great chance in Wolfsburg to secure relegation,” says BW coach Gerald Scheppelhner. However, the Linzer family raised the slogan “Take it in the WAC.” Defender Manuel Maranda confirmed that the victory over Altash thanks to Ronivaldo's brace gave them a lot of self-confidence. In the WAC, the Linzers want to play their game, create a lot of chances and be aggressive. Then hopefully we can get the next win,” Maranda said. Schebelner expects Wolfsberger to be under pressure. The coach said: “Because their goal this season is to compete in an international competition next year.”
In order to achieve this season's goal, the best possible return of points must be achieved in the remaining four rounds in the qualifying group. After the Linz match, Wydad faces a difficult challenge against Austria, the leaders of the league. Even a victory for the Violets may not be enough for the final score – because the Vienna team is automatically seeded ahead of Wydad Casablanca if there is a tie on points.
