Praise for the LASK goalkeeper: “Lawal is having an outstanding season”

There was a lot of talk at LASK about the goal drought and the lack of quality on offense. The consistently strong defensive performances were devalued because no victories resulted from them. In the 1-0 win against Klagenfurt, defender Felix Luckeneder helped out as a goalscorer; before that, goalkeeper Tobias Lawal had saved the chance for their first win of the spring.

“The performances from the defense are outstanding. And Tobi is having an outstanding season,” said coach Thomas Sageder after the twelfth game without conceding a goal in the 24th round of the Bundesliga, this time with Philipp Ziereis as the outstanding defense chief because Andres Andrade was on the left side helped out.

For Klagenfurt coach Peter Pacult, Lawal was the match winner for LASK when he defused Sinan Karweina’s chance. “I know him from the time he played with the amateurs,” said the experienced trainer. Pacult thinks highly of the 23-year-old, “in terms of his charisma and what he can do. I think he will be an issue for the team in the future.” As number three in Austria’s national team, Lawal currently has to line up behind Alexander Schlager and Patrick Pentz.

A matter of the head

In any case, the problems at LASK lie on the other half of the pitch. Countless safety passes, bad passes and many wrong decisions against Klagenfurt showed the insecurity that had continued to build up with every winless game in the spring. Sageder: “You saw how much pressure the players put on themselves and how much the head plays a role in football.” Because immediately after the liberating 1-0, something like playful lightness was evident for a few minutes. Sageder: “I hope it helps. I’m so happy that we won. We still had chances that we have to take advantage of at the level we want to be at. It’s not possible for us to have chances like that leave it for a longer period of time.”