Marked for Raphael Baumgartner
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
6 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Match14 Nov 2026
12‑0, and Wolfgang Onisiwo took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Mattersburg tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Michael Lienhart
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.73, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match16 Nov 2026
Mattersburg are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 36 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The match ball belongs to Raphael Baumgartner, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad16 Nov 2026
19 goals and a season average of 7.52 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match14 Nov 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 12 goals between Mattersburg and Admira Wacker, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
Michael Lienhart damages knee ligaments — 40 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 40 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The match ball belongs to Florian Dragovic, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match7 Nov 2026
Wolfsberger AC will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Mattersburg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad9 Nov 2026
16 goals and a season average of 7.42. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Alexander Trimmel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 9.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 4‑1, Marco Lienhart could afford to be generous.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
3 assists and not a goal for Pascal Köpke
He laid on 3 and scored none, and would have been mildly offended to be asked why. The scorers get the headlines; the man who made them gets the respect of everybody who understood the match.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Yannick Häringer dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad12 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Michael Lienhart
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match10 Oct 2026
Grodig will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Mattersburg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.67 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A brace, and Wolfgang Onisiwo takes the afternoon — 9.44
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Wolfgang Onisiwo provided it, and the 9.44 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match12 Oct 2026
26 points and nobody above them. The word is not being said around the ground yet, and it is being thought in every seat.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A season average of 7.47 with 16 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mattersburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Mattersburg
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match10 Oct 2026
Grodig blown away early
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Grodig tried to reorganise, Mattersburg did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Peter Junuzovic at 18 — 8.14
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Peter Junuzovic did not need any: 8.14, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Jakob Schöller and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Raphael Fuchs was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Match3 Oct 2026
After 4 games, Mattersburg finally taste it again
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Rapid Wien; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Match3 Oct 2026
A goal on 91 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The award goes to Raphael Baumgartner, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Match3 Oct 2026
It needed Raphael Fuchs to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Rapid Wien, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matteo Schablas, and the manager let it.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
Somebody else is better right now than Yannick Häringer
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Player ratings
Pascal Köpke ran the game
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
Michael Lienhart damages knee ligaments — 85 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 85 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad28 Sep 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match26 Sep 2026
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad28 Sep 2026
15 goals and a season average of 7.44 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jakob Schöller and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Raphael Baumgartner was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.83. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Nils Miatke
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match28 Sep 2026
Half the programme played, position 1, 22 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
93 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match19 Sep 2026
6‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A brace, and Florian Dragovic takes the afternoon — 9.67
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Florian Dragovic provided it, and the 9.67 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad21 Sep 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match19 Sep 2026
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Mattersburg have 3 straight wins of it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Raphael Baumgartner was on a different afternoon to everybody else
10.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Match19 Sep 2026
7 goals in one match, Raphael Baumgartner on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Mattersburg and Altach.
Squad21 Sep 2026
12 goals and a season average of 7.32. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Julian Junuzovic was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Michael Lienhart
101 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mattersburg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match12 Sep 2026
Admira Wacker will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Mattersburg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A brace, and Raphael Baumgartner takes the afternoon — 9.57
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Raphael Baumgartner provided it, and the 9.57 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match14 Sep 2026
First, on 16 points. The table is a fact and a fact is allowed to be enjoyed, which is as far as anybody at the club is prepared to go in public.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Mattersburg heard it as anything else.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Thomas Lindner and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Sep 2026
Vaduz are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Mattersburg will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wolfgang Onisiwo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Wolfgang Onisiwo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.10. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Sep 2026
Michael Lienhart damages knee ligaments — 109 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 109 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match7 Sep 2026
Mattersburg refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 13 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer from Maritimo for Raphael Baumgartner was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
No deal for Leon Grgić at that price
Mattersburg offered $4.6M; Sturm Graz said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Market7 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mattersburg, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 8 in, 0 out at Mattersburg
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 8 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Utrecht is saying, and nobody at Mattersburg is enjoying the guessing.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mattersburg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Raphael Baumgartner. 2‑1 against Wolfsberger AC, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad24 Aug 2026
Michael Lienhart damages knee ligaments — 125 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 125 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match22 Aug 2026
9‑3, and Florian Dragovic took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Mattersburg tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad24 Aug 2026
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad24 Aug 2026
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Port Vale had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$86.0K settles it between the clubs for Matteo Schablas
Austria Wien have accepted the money. What Mattersburg do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match22 Aug 2026
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Mattersburg have 3 straight wins of it.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Mattersburg have gone to Austria Wien with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Aug 2026
133 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mattersburg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Sampdoria have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Raphael Baumgartner. The answer from Mattersburg has not changed — yet.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
SV Ried wanted more than $1.0M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Alexander Trimmel was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Wolfgang Onisiwo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Mattersburg asked and Stockport County said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match15 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Wolfgang Onisiwo. 2‑1 against Austria Wien, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Aug 2026
Grodig will want this one forgotten quickly: 9‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Mattersburg were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad10 Aug 2026
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.86 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
$1.0M on the table at SV Ried. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gernot Kalajdzic commits to Mattersburg for another 4 years.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.99 beside his name.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer from Leyton Orient for Raphael Baumgartner was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mattersburg can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Aug 2026
Florian Dragovic wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Mattersburg hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Alexander Trimmel and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Mattersburg training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wolfgang Onisiwo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Mattersburg asked and AZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match1 Aug 2026
A goal on 94 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Mattersburg deserved better, and so did he.