Table leader comes rushing: FAC Vienna guest in Innsbruck – 2nd league
![](https://www.ligaportal.at/2-liga/images/wappen/floridsdorfer_ac.jpg)
Game one after the March international break leads the Florida athletic sports club as part of the 22nd round of the ADMIRAL 2nd league for FC Wacker Innsbruck. For the first time this season it is up to FAC to defend the newly conquered championship lead.
Will head coach Mitja Mörec and FAC Vienna be able to defend their lead in Innsbruck?
The last country match break of the 2021/22 season is history and the ADMIRAL 2nd league will return next Friday in the well-known manner. What is new, however, is the starting position from the point of view of the surprise team from Floridsdorf, because thanks to the 2-1 home win against FC Liefering in the 21st round, FAC (46 points) at FC Wacker Innsbruck are the leaders in a match day for the first time, while the traditional Tyrolean club currently ranked ninth (28 points).
“This new situation doesn’t change anything for the team and for me personally. Of course we notice that our opponents are preparing even more intensively for us, we feel more attention and respect and have also gained some sympathy. It’s a nice feeling for all of us.” head coach Mitja Mörec examines the new “prey role”.
With the home win against Liefering, FAC was also able to set a new club record in the second division with eleven unbeaten games in the series (10 wins, 1 draw). The away balance on Friday should also provide momentum and self-confidence, because the Floridsdorfers have scored 23 out of 30 points away from home – the best in the league! In addition, the blue and whites from Hopfengasse in the distance have only conceded four goals so far.
However, nobody in Hopfengasse wants to hear about a possible role as a favourite: “When you’re top of the table, you can’t deny being a favorite, but we don’t really care. The opponent on Friday is still called Wacker Innsbruck, has an incredible amount of quality in their ranks and an experienced coach. We’re expecting a familiar game, but we want to continue our difficult run,” so Mörec.
A solid team performance like in the past few weeks is also required on Friday, after all, the Tyrolean Tivoli has mostly proven to be a difficult place for the FAC in the recent past: The last and only away win in the past eight years dates from May 2018, when the Tyroleans had already been promoted and the FAC was sure of staying up even before the game. At that time, the Floridsdorfer got a 2-0 win.
In the first leg, the Tyroleans inflicted one of two home defeats so far this season on FAC with a 3-1 win at the FAC pitch. The interim FAC lead was achieved by Anthony Schmid, who can celebrate his 50th appearance in FAC dress in the second leg on Friday. “Of course, our current series gives us a lot of self-confidence and the atmosphere in the team is still very good. After the many games lately, the break was also good to recharge your batteries. A very good match awaits us, but we’re going to Innsbruck with a lot of motivation” said the 23-year-old Austro-French.
The hosts from the Tyrolean capital can look back on a mixed record this spring with three defeats, one draw and one win. The eleven of neo-head coach Michael Oenning made positive headlines in the last home game in mid-March when Innsbruck were able to win a clear 3-0 win against the leaders from Lustenau, which could have been even better.
FC Wacker Innsbruck, who suffered a 3-1 friendly defeat at German second division club FC Ingolstadt during the international break, can move up to 7th place if they win at home. If, on the other hand, FAC manages to get their first away three at Tivoli in four years, Floridsdorfer will remain at the top of the table. This also applies to a defeat if SC Austria Lustenau does not win in the parallel game at SKU Amstetten.
Text & image source: FAC Vienna