The Austrian Cup first round is complete. All Bundesliga clubs played away and advanced except for Hartberg, losers on penalties to a team from the Regionalliga East. The only Erste Liga failure to advance was Lafnitz, which also lost to a Regionalliga East club. Round of 64 Anif 1 - 4 Sturm Graz Bruck an der Leitha 0 - 4 Ried Treibach 1 - 2 Wattens Langenegg 1 - 4 Austria Klagenfurt Ebreichsdorf 2 - 1 Lafnitz Wolfsberg 4 - 1 Koma Elektra Kitzbuehel 0 - 7 Wacker Innsbruck Hall 1 - 5 FC Juniors OOe Bad Gleichenberg 2 - 3 Vorwärts Steyr Gleisdorf 4 - 0 Drassburg Seekirchen 1 - 4 Amstetten Union Gurten 1 - 0 Zell am See Wiener SK 2 - 6 Dornbirn Mauerwerk 1 - 2 Marchfeld Donauauen Parndorf 1 - 7 Salzburg Wolfurt 0 - 3 Floridsdorfer AC Kottmannsdorf 0 - 9 Austria Wien Pinkafeld 0 - 10 Mattersburg Gloggnitz 1 - 2 St. Pölten Wiener Viktoria * 2 - 2 Hartberg Stadl Paura 0 - 5 Austria Lustenau WSC Hertha 1 - 0 Hohenems Kufstein 1 - 6 Altach Klagenfurt 0 - 9 Wolfsberger AC Edelweiss Linz 0 - 5 Admira Mödling Leobendorf 0 - 5 BW Linz Traiskirchen 1 - 5 Horn Weindorf St Anna am Aigen 1 - 0 Kalsdorf Vöcklamarkt 2 - 6 LASK Neusiedl am See 1 - 6 Grazer AK Allerheiligen 1 - 9 Rapid Wien Schwaz 1 - 3 Kapfenberger SV
Well, four Bundesliga teams exited the competition in the Round of 32. But three of those (Austria, Rapid, Mattersburg) were the result of being paired with fellow Bundesliga clubs. Defending Cup holders Salzburg had the toughest assignment, playing at Rapid Wien, and needed extra time to advance. Only Admira Mödling lost to a lower-league opponent. That leaves 7/16 in the next round from the highest division, including the top three, Salzburg, Wolfsberger AC, and LASK. Another 5/16 are from the second divsion, while an impressive 4/16 (Ebreichsdorf, Gleisdorf, Gurten, Weindorf) are from the ranks of the third-division Regionalliga. Round of 32 Austria Lustenau 2 - 1 Floridsdorfer AC Grazer AK 1 - 2 Wacker Innsbruck Ebreichsdorf 2 - 1 Admira Mödling Gleisdorf 3 - 0 FC Juniors OO Union Gurten 2 - 0 Horn Marchfeld Donauauen 1 - 2 Kapfenberger SV Amstetten 4 - 1 BW Linz Weindorf St Anna am Aigen 2 - 0 Dornbirn St. Pölten 2 - 1 Mattersburg Austria Klagenfurt 2 - 4 Sturm Graz WSG Swarovski Tirol 5 - 2 Austria Wien Wiener Viktoria 1 - 4 LASK Wolfsberg 0 - 6 Wolfsberger AC Vorwärts Steyr 3 - 4 Ried WSC Hertha 1 - 4 Altach Rapid Wien 1 - 2 Salzburg
All four Regionalliga clubs lost at home this round. Two Bundesliga teams also crashed out--Altach at fellow Bundesliga opponent LASK, and Wolfsberger AC at Innsbruck, which was in the Bundesliga last season. The Quarterfinals will feature St. Pölten, Wattens Tirol, Sturm Graz, Salzburg, and LASK from the Bundesliga as well as Amstetten, Austria Lustenau, and Wacker Innsbruck representing the second division. Round of 16 St. Pölten 1 - 0 Ried Gleisdorf 1 - 4 Wattens Tirol Weindorf St Anna am Aigen 0 - 3 Amstetten Union Gurten 2 - 3 Austria Lustenau Kapfenberger SV 0 - 2 Sturm Graz Ebreichsdorf 0 - 5 Salzburg Wacker Innsbruck 1 - 0 Wolfsberger AC LASK 3 - 1 Altach
The quarterfinals saw three more Bundesliga clubs eliminated. Austria Lustenau and Wacker Innsbruck, currently 5th and 6th in the Erste Liga, prevailed via PKs over their Bundesliga opponents. Those two will face off in one of the semifinals, so we're guaranteed a lower-division finalist this year. The other semifinal will be between clubs more expected to reach this stage. Salzburg and LASK are currently ten points ahead of the rest of the field in the Bundesliga. I expect their semifinal will determine the eventual Cup winner. Quarterfinals St. Pölten 3 - 3* Wacker Innsbruck Austria Lustenau *2 - 2 Wattens Tirol LASK 2 - 0 Sturm Graz Amstetten 0 - 3 Salzburg
The two home sides advanced to the final. Austria Lustenau won the "Erste Liga semifinal," while Salzburg got a huge scalp by knocking out their major competitor in Austria this year. LASK may be leading the Bundesliga, but they won't earn a Cup trophy. Semifinals Austria Lustenau 1 - 0 Wacker Innsbruck Salzburg 1 - 0 LASK The final will be May 1. Salzburg is going for their 7th Cup in 9 years. Austria Lustenau is seeking to become the first lower-division side to win since the Regionalliga's Pasching took the Cup in 2013.
Final Salzburg 5 - 0 Austria Lustenau The Austrian Cup final was pushed back four weeks to May 29. Salzburg dominated their lower-division opponents to win back-to-back Cups and their 7th Cup in 9 years. While defeating a club from the Erste Liga isn't particularly impressive, the fact that Salzburg repeated with the loss of significant players this year is noteworthy. Congrats to Jesse Marsch!