Geordie Al's Groundhopper Scrapbook: Blau-Weiss Linz 1-1 Austria Lustenau, Monday 15th August 2016

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Blau-Weiss Linz 1-1 Austria Lustenau, Monday 15th August 2016

Blau-Weiss Linz 1-1 Austria Lustenau, att. 1,195 (Austrian 1.liga)

The ticket booths outside the stadium

I’m on the homeward-bound stage of my journey now, if heading towards Buapest to meet up with my better half is ‘homeward’. Certainly, the end of my football tour is nigh, with only an Austrian second tier match and (possibly) a Budapest gig left. Anyway, I’ve not been to Linz (beyond changing trains, once) so it’s as good a place as any to rest up following last night’s overnite train to Munich. And my abode is close by the footie ground. Perfect.

1st view of the inside.

Fast forward a few hours and I make another check on the match. T’internet now suggests the game is at some other stadium, the other side of the city centre, next to the river. At least 45 minutes’ walk, and that’s even if I go the right way. I decide to go past the other stadium anyway, just in case…and a good job I did too. With an hour to KO there are a few fans milling around and the ticket office is open. I pick up a €14 standing place and then have a stroll through the nearby botanical gardens.

BW ultras as the teams come out.

The Stadion der Linz was much more impressive than I’d come to think. It’s essentially horse-shoe shaped, around an athletics track, with two stands making up the ‘U’. The main stand has a few more rows (not many) and covers one touchline and slightly beyond the pitch, while the other stand covers two sides and is populated with ‘rail seating’. However, what ‘makes’ the stadium is the vaulted roof, its arches dominating proceedings and the cherry on top.

Looking towards the main stand side.

I’d done no homework in advance, I had no idea who Blau-Weiss were playing. I didn’t even know if Blau-Weiss were the biggest team in Linz (or is it LASK?) One plays at Linz’s premier stadium, the other is towards the top of the league. Blau-Weiss’s opponents tonite were Austria Lustenau, from the western part of the country. What I didn’t know was that Lustenau were currently top 3, and Blau-Weiss bottom, 4 defeats in 4.

Behind the goal...the stadium runs out.

You’d never have guessed this from the opening 20 minutes. BW battered Lustenau and the latter’s keeper made 3 amazing saves before finally being beaten when he narrowed the angle of one attacker, who squared it for a tap-in. Defence? What defence?

I imagined BW would now score a barrowload. I don’t think they had another shot on target. Lustenau gradually took control and equalised before half time, a header smacked in off a corner. 2^nd half, Lustenau continued to have the advantage, but couldn’t find a way through. Overall, the draw was a fair result.

The teams come out.

The crowd was given as 1200, the majority by the touchline, either in or near the ultras, who kept up a noise most of the game. I was also impressed with the Lustenauers (?) There may only have been around 30 of them but every single one joined in the chanting. For reasons unknown, they displayed all of their flags and banners upside down.

The rain comes down, the match goes on.

The beer was standard, but their sausages were huge, and greasy. More Polish than German. I had two, though I was going to get a schnitzel (‘when in Austria…’) but they’d sold out. No badges in the club shop (next to the ticket office). In fact, not a lot full stop. But if your support is barely 1,000..? It doesn’t sound great, watching a match in an 18,000 capacity stadium at not even one-tenth capacity, but I really enjoyed it. Good atmosphere, despite the numbers, beautiful stadium, and adjacent to parkland. Admittedly, a bit of a walk from the city centre, but any amount of buses go to ‘Stadion’ (17,19,26,27). Do it.