NEWS
Violet Frustration: "You simply have to score a goal at some point"
Austria showed good football for long stretches against Braga. However, the Viennese failed to score a single goal in their final European cup appearance of the season.
Austria Wien have been eliminated from the UEFA Conference League with their heads held high.
After a 0-2 first-leg defeat in Braga, the Violets dominated for long stretches of the first half and in the opening minutes after the break in front of their home crowd in the return leg, but simply couldn't score a goal on the day.
"Today, I think we played one of our best first halves since I've been here. They barely put any pressure on our backline," captain Manfred Fischer said proudly in an ORF interview.
At the same time, frustration was noticeable: "If you want to advance in a game like this, you simply have to score a goal at some point – and we didn't manage to do that."
Austria Fails to Score
Johannes Eggestein had the best chances for the Favoriten-based side: In the 22nd minute, the attacker got a shot away from a good position just outside the box, goalkeeper Bernardo could only parry it, but Julian Hettwer failed to beat the keeper on the rebound.
After the break, the German narrowly missed a cross from Reinhold Ranftl with a header (52').
"We created several situations where you simply have to score a goal," Stephan Helm criticized Austria's finishing.
Helm: "Put a Top Team in Real Trouble"
Subsequently, the Viennese increasingly lost their rhythm and had to pay tribute to the high tempo from the first half as the game progressed.
"We couldn't quite maintain the intensity, and we weren't as clear on the ball towards the end," explained the FAK coach.
That was mainly due to the opponent: "You have to put in an enormous amount of effort to trouble this team. They are truly a top side – they played in the Europa League semi-finals last year, and we put them in real trouble for 55, 60 minutes."
Braga "Showed Character"
Braga coach Carlos Vicens, meanwhile, paid his respects to Austria: "It's true that we couldn't build much pressure, especially in the first half. We suffered many turnovers."
Nevertheless, the Portuguese improved and ultimately secured their advancement to the league phase confidently. "Then we – also with the two substitutions – regained more control over the game. The team showed character there."
