Goal drought overshadows LASK centenary

Last Thursday, LASK Linz marked their 100th anniversary with a large gala event but there is less to celebrate on the field with the club dropping down the Bundesliga after a run of nine straight defeats and 773 minutes without scoring a goal.

Title challenge
The 1964/65 Austrian champions have endured an erratic existence in recent seasons but appeared set to build on last season's creditable sixth-place finish – they were two points off top spot with five games remaining – when three consecutive wins left them just three points off the pace after eleven matches this time around.

Panadić dismissed
However, then came the turnaround as LASK lost nine games in a row, scoring just once and conceding 25. The club dispensed with coach Andrej Panadić after the third of those reverses, 1-0 against SK Austria Kärnten, and appointed a successor from within their ranks as former Austria goalkeeper and club vice president Klaus Lindenberger took over the reins. The change proved ineffective, however, as the club lost the next six matches without scoring.

Youth entrusted
Injuries to Markus Weissenberger, Jürgen Panis, Wendel and Klaus Salmutter have had a detrimental effect while form has deserted Ivica Vastic and Christian Mayrleb, who has scored eight of their 20 goals. "We have to play younger players," said Lindenberger. "And the problem is they don't have match experience."

Derby match
The distance to the relegation spot held by SCR Altach remains unchanged at eight points following LASK's 1-0 loss in the derby to SV Ried and Altach's 8-1 thumping at SK Rapid Wien on Saturday. "I am still optimistic that we will find our way out of this fall soon, maybe even this week," president Peter-Michael Reichel said before the weekend's matches. "You can sense a spirit of optimism. After quite some time, our team will finally put up some real resistance. I hope we can stop our negative stretch."

Vital contribution
Reichel was instrumental in bringing the club back into the top flight last term after six seasons, eliminating debts of around €4m and bringing in Vastic and Karl Daxbacher as coach to earn promotion. The acquisitions of veterans Mayrleb and Michael Baur helped their cause last season but Daxbacher then departed for FK Austria Wien and the club appears to have struggled since.