The ÖFB team is happy about an important 2-0 success in Chisinau. The Foda-Elf could not convince.
First things first: Austria fulfilled its duty with a 2-0 win in Chisinau against the Republic of Moldova. The way to the goal was rocky and required a lot of patience.
Everything started in the Stadionul Zimbru with a defect in the sound system, which is why the 20 fans from Austria who had traveled with them started singing “Land of the Mountains” themselves, and ended in a not very serious threat. The suspicion that the drone hovering over the players during the hymns would be part of the equipment of the TV producers and provide airy images quickly turned out to be a mistake.
A rascal had allowed himself a prank outside the stadium and sent the flying object across the lawn. It took 30 minutes for the rascal to be located and for the game to begin at 10:15 p.m. local time.
Break for Dragovic
From an Austrian point of view, patience was also required when the ball finally rolled. Franco Foda had bluffed the day before the game with his statement that he did not have the game in Israel on Saturday in the back of his mind. The team boss gave a break to Aleksandar Dragovic, who has already played twelve games with Red Star Belgrade this season. And David Alaba didn't play either, officially due to minor muscular problems and a related precaution.
Our Start1️⃣1️⃣ # MDAAUT # Together Austria pic.twitter.com/nVtjTqh5GI
– ÖFB – oefb.at (@ oefb1904) September 1, 2021
And the German did not fulfill the hopes of many fans to see the 18-year-old Barcelona legionnaire Yusuf Demir from the start. Meanwhile, Foda sent Michael Gregoritsch into play alongside Marko Arnautovic in a 4-4-2 formation, which in possession of the ball was mainly perceptible as 4-2-3-1. However, the idea behind Gregoritsch's nomination remained hidden in view of what was happening on the lawn, which was exactly to be expected.
The hosts barricaded their own penalty area with two close-knit chains of four, and the Austrians searched the way through. Alone, they hardly found any, often tried to play around the Moldovan castle and flank into the inner courtyard. There – in the penalty area – the Austrians were often outnumbered. For one half there were only a handful of half-chances. Such was enough for the lead: Baumgartner came from 17 meters to the end and hit precisely in the lower right corner – a few seconds before the break whistle.
Patchwork
The prelude to an offensive fireworks display? Not at all. The efforts to ensure a quick decision after changing sides were more piecemeal than offensive football. And if the Austrians were dangerous in the beginning, then because of the individual quality of the two offensive wings Schaub and Baumgartner. A co-production of the two also resulted in the best, no, the only real chance of scoring in the game. Baumgartner shot over it from eight meters (73rd).
Data from SofaScore.
And how did the team boss react? With the fear of equalization, he switched and brought Ilsanker (for security?), But not Yusuf Demir, among other things. The half-hearted attempts to play for a second goal were almost punished by Moldova's captain Ionita (88th). Marko Arnautovic did better and scored with the last action to make it 2-0 for the Austrians, who are third behind Denmark and Israel.
To the live blog To review: Republic of Moldova vs. Austria on kurier.at
