On-loan Wolfsburg player Ulysses Llanez was the hero in his final appearance for St. Pölten while Brenden Aaronson was once again a substitute as Salzburg continued their extended victory lap.
Rapid Wien 0 – 1 RB Salzburg
Brenden Aaronson continued his low-risk final few games in the Salzburg jersey, playing the final 20 minutes in their narrow shut-out road win over archrivals Rapid Wien.
With the American having had some injury issues late in the season, and also likely to depart for a sizeable transfer fee in the summer, Salzburg head coach Matthias Jaissle has opted to hand his understudy Luka Sucic a more regular starting role, with significant success.
Despite Salzburg’s significant firepower, the game stayed close from the starting until the final whistle, with a tenth-minute goal by the champions being the decider.
The goal came in stylish fashion from the visitors on their first significant action of the game, with a fast buildup beginning from near the midfield strip ending with Karim Adeyemi tapping Sucic through on goal for a simple finish from just beyond the spot to the left side of goal.
Salzburg held a heavy advantage in terms of possession, with control of the ball for more than 60% of the time. Nevertheless, Rapid was efficient with their time on the ball, taking four shots and forcing the opposing keeper into four saves.
Aaronson entered in the 69th minute in place of Mohamed Camara, and managed one shot while completing nine of ten passes amidst 14 total touches.
In the end, the narrow result stood, favoring the already crowned champions with another three points.
Aaronson and his teammates close their season on Saturday, in what will likely be the USMNT starlet’s final appearance for the team, when they host Klagenfurt.
SKN St. Pölten 3 – 1 Wacker Innsbruck
Ulysses Llanez was the star in his likely penultimate game with St. Pölten, scoring two goals and assisting on a third as the team came back from an early deficit to beat Wacker Innsbruck in their season finale.
Wacker took the lead after 25 minutes, with Marco Holz and Ronivaldo linking up to create an opening for Rami Tekir to put away the 1-0.
However, the second half belonged to the hosts, in particular their on-loan American forward, who took the game on his shoulders to secure the win.
Llanez scored his first a few moments after the restart, when he was front and center to put away a cross from Jaden Montor, then put his team into the lead twi minutes later, taking advantage of a bad giveaway from defender Paolino Bertaccini and making no mistake with his shot from the edge of the area to claim the 2-1 lead.
In the 70th minute, he turned provider, springing Yakuba Silue through on goal between the defense for a shot to the right corner.
The American was pulled with 13 minutes left, however by then the result was a foregone conclusion.
St. Pölten finish the round in eighth place, and have one last game to play this season, on Sunday at Vorwärts Steyr.