Wels Stun Liefering in Second League Thriller
WSPG Wels produced a shock victory on the road, beating Liefering 3:2 in the Second League's Regular Season round 2 on Friday evening. The result upsets the table order, with the visitors jumping ahead of the hosts despite sitting 14th to their opponents' second place. To be fair, the home side had looked comfortable for long stretches before things came to a head in the closing stages.
T. Sahin gave Liefering the early advantage in the 14th minute, and M. Matjasec doubled the lead shortly after half-time on 31 minutes. N. Masching picked up a yellow card in the 39th minute as the visitors began to settle, but the momentum shifted when S. Malinowski pulled one back for Wels in the 50th minute. And here's the thing — the game suddenly felt different after that goal.
Things turned ugly for the hosts in the 76th minute when M. Palacios received his second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Liefering to finish the match with a man down. The substitution pattern reflected the urgency: J. Werner and M. Svec came off for Wels, while J. Zangerl and C. Wernitznig replaced their counterparts for the home side. By then, the visitors had found a way through.
I. Drammeh seized the opportunity in the 79th minute to level the score, and J. Hussauf completed the turnaround with a goal in the 85th minute. L. Tischler and Drammeh both picked up yellow cards as tensions ran high in the final minutes. O. Kregar made a late appearance for Wels in the 90th minute, but the result was already decided.
Statistics tell a different story from the result. Liefering had 47 per cent possession and registered 3 shots on target from 9 attempts, while Wels managed 53 per cent possession with 8 shots on target from 13 attempts. The visitors also won 10 corners to 4 and recorded 6 blocked shots compared to the hosts' zero. Shots accuracy showed 33 per cent for Liefering against 42 per cent for Wels — the visitors were more clinical when it mattered.
The victory moves Wels to 7 points from 6 games, closing the gap on the teams above them. Liefering remain second with 10 points but will be reflecting on a match they could have won comfortably. The hosts had beaten Kapfenberg 4:0 in their previous outing, so this defeat ends a decent run. Wels, meanwhile, extend their unbeaten streak to two games after losing three of their first five matches.