BULLS DEMOLISH ARMENIAN CHAMPS
AUSTRIA TODAY
July 18, 2008
Austrian Bundesliga runners-up Red Bull Salzburg kicked off their
UEFA-Cup campaign with an impressive 7-0 win over Armenian cup
winners Bananz Eriwan on Thursday night. Salzburg started their UEFA
qualification at the Wals-Siezenheim Stadium with the biggest victory
in the club´s history. Under new coach Co Adriaanse the Salzburg side
played a typically offensive game, continuing what they began in the
first two games of the this season´s Austrian Bundesliga.
They surprised the crowd with a spectacular and fast-paced style of
play, marking a return to their goal-scoring form that was mostly
absent under former coach Giovanni Trapattoni. Salzburg started the
game without their injured top scorer Mark Janko but still took the
lead after 22 minutes with a header by Ibrahim Sekagya. Three more
goals by Ngwat-Mahop (29th min.), Zickler (34th min.) and Tchoyi (37th
min.) followed in the first half. Red Bull´s Dutch coach Adriaanse
later told reporters, "In the halftime I said to the team that I want
to see 7 goals in total." And his players managed to satisfy him with
the 7-0 result. A further three goals in early in the second half –
Ngwat-Mahop (46th min.), Obster (48th) and Zickler (65th) – sealed
an embarrassing defeat for the Armenian Champions. The Armenian side
were however missing key players but even so never looked anything
like keeping up with Salzburg. The second leg will take place on 31
July in Eriwan, but nobody expects anything but Salzburg advancing
to the next round. Unlike Salzburg, Austria´s second side in this
year’s UEFA-Cup, Austria Vienna, disappointed their supporters with an
embarrassing 0-1 away defeat to Kazakh side Tobol Kostanaj. Salzburg
had never come to a higher victory in an international game, so far
the 5-0 win against Adanaspor from Turkey in 1976 was the club´s
record. Only twice have higher victories by Austrian teams have been
recorded in European competitions – Austria Vienna´s 10-0 drubbing
of Luxemburg’s Bonneweg and Rapid´s 8-0 victory over Avenir Beggen,
also from the tiny European state.
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