Fan Check Week 38: A two-tiered community in the Bundesliga

Unsurprisingly, the Vienna derby, which was attended by 26,000 spectators, topped the table this week, even if Rapid’s 2-1 win inevitably faded into the background in the media. The 10,000 mark was also surpassed in SK Sturm’s bitter 3-0 defeat to Wydad (15,032) and LASK’s 4-2 win over JAC (13,000 reported). These three games ensure that the average this week reaches five figures at 10,816, although the other three games attracted well under 5,000 people.

The Vienna home duel between Vienna and Rapid II in front of 2,102 pairs of eyes (3:1 for Döblinger) tops the list of second division matches. The 0-0 draw between Austria Lustenau and Sturm Graz attracted 1,811 people to the alternative venue in Bregenz, and 1,180 visitors wanted to watch SV Ried's thrilling 3-2 away win at SKU Amstetten. Admira Wacker narrowly missed the 1,000 mark twice, both in the play-off against Rapid II (923) and in the duel against FAC (900 respectively), but the Südstädter managed to win both games, 3:1 and 2:1 respectively.

The best-attended women's match of the week was the Linz derby in the second round of the Sportland Niederostreich Cup, the national cup competition for women. Blau-Weiss Linz/Kleinmünchen beat LASK 3-0 in front of 822 spectators. Unfortunately, the matches of the fourth round of the Admiral Women's Bundesliga were far from this mark. 307 people in Altach against Wien (1:3) and 300 visitors in Bergheim against Austria Wien (0:0), that's it. Even the Gruabn as a venue is no longer operating according to the match report, with only 120 people attending the duel between Sturm Graz and SKN (0:3). Rapid's home match against SU Schönbrunn (8:0) was also played in front of just 200 people.

No third-tier match managed to break the 1,000-mark this week. The closest was a 1-1 draw between Sportklub Wien and Seigendorf in front of 927 spectators. The Inner Styrian duel between Deutschlandsberger SC and DSV Leoben attracted 850 people, with Donawitz winning the frenetic match 4-3. Unfortunately, the visit of Austrian side Salzburg, who won 4-1 away to FC Lauterach, was a bit of a disappointment; the match report shows just 350 visitors, although this figure could be somewhat questionable given the photos of the match.

Unsurprisingly, FC Wacker Innsbruck topped the list of the regional leagues this week. Aside from St. Johann in Tirol, who are themselves football-mad, Wacker’s 3-1 win over SK St. Johann attracted 1,500 fans. A further 1,450 watched the 1-1 draw between the two traditional big clubs in southeastern Lower Austria, 1. Fortuna Wiener Neustadter SC and ES Ortmann. A total of 1,000 people turned out for Dornbirner SV’s big youth day in Haselstauden. The championship match against FC Alberschwende may have been just a partial side here, but DSV’s 3-1 win probably pleased most of those in attendance.

There were also derbies and duels in the districts of south-eastern Styria (Fürstenfeld – Ilz, 990!), in the Neusiedl district (Parndorf – SK Pama), in the Upper Austrian Mattigtal (Schalchen – Munderfing) and in southern Styria (Tillmitsch – Kalsdorf).

Outside the scope of this list, but absolutely worth mentioning, was a match in the Upper Austria West, the sixth tier of the league. Traditional Innviertler regional club SK Altheim met newcomers SV Weng, with just six kilometres separating the two clubs. A crowd of 1,100 saw the home team win 1-0, meaning they finished 12th overall. The Red Devils from Innviertel remained top of the table.