Red Star Penzing Blazes Past Mauerwerk 3-0, Reigniting Ambitions Amidst Tight Landesliga Table

The autumn air at Sportplatz Red Star Auto crackled with anticipation Friday evening as a rejuvenated Red Star Penzing side swept aside a struggling Mauerwerk, 3-0, delivering a statement result that offered the home faithful a cleansing dose of optimism in a campaign defined by inconsistency.

For weeks, Red Star’s trajectory in the Landesliga Wien had followed a jagged arc—impressive wins balanced by deflating defeats, their place in the standings oscillating between promise and peril. Last week’s 1-4 thrashing at Dinamo Helfort had threatened to cast a shadow on their ambitions, leaving manager Markus Dvorak with urgent questions and a restless supporters’ section desperate for answers.

Tonight, answers emerged early—and emphatically. Red Star didn’t just win; they imposed their will, dictating tempo, controlling possession, and exposing Mauerwerk’s brittle defense. In doing so, they leapt from the murky middle of the table toward seventh place, their 11 points from eight matches now bearing the weight of renewed possibility.

The opening half set the tone for Red Star’s dominance. In the 17th minute, it was the captain, Michael Wimmer, who broke the deadlock. The veteran midfielder picked up a loose ball near the edge of the area, cutting inside before unleashing a curling low drive that snuck past Mauerwerk keeper Lukas Steiner’s outstretched fingers. The strike was as much a release as it was a reward—a nod to Red Star’s intent to erase the memory of defensive lapses that had haunted recent fixtures.

The match’s pivotal turning point arrived shortly after halftime. In the 52nd minute, Mauerwerk’s defense, already showing signs of disarray, was breached again by a moment of quick thinking. Red Star winger Armin Selmani delivered a sharp diagonal run, meeting a threaded pass from Lukas Ernst, and coolly slotted home his side’s second, his celebration punctuated by a jubilant salute to the home stand.

Mauerwerk, by contrast, moved gingerly between hope and resignation. Winless in five matches and battered by a three-match streak without scoring before their recent 2-2 draw with Vorwärts Brigittenau, their precarious tenth-place standing seemed to weigh visibly on the squad. Urgency flashed only intermittently—midfielder Emir Suljic probed with a speculative effort in the 60th minute, but Red Star’s defense, marshaled by center-back Patrick Novak, repelled every advance.

Any lingering doubt about the outcome dissolved in the 78th minute thanks to a speculative Red Star counterattack. Substitute David Gruber—introduced to inject pace—seized on a Mauerwerk turnover in midfield. With a burst of energy, he surged into open space and unleashed a left-footed shot that caromed off the underside of the bar and over the line. The third and final goal brought the crowd to its feet, signaling a cathartic night for the hosts.

Mauerwerk’s frustrations boiled over late, their discipline unraveling as substitute defender Tomas Szalai was shown a straight red for a reckless challenge in the 83rd minute. Manager Arben Sefa could only watch as his side, rooted at ten points from eight matches, failed to muster a late response—a performance that will provide scant comfort as they slide closer to the relegation zone.

Historically, encounters between Red Star and Mauerwerk have been tightly contested, but on this occasion, the gulf in confidence and execution was unmistakable. Red Star’s three points lift them to a precarious seventh in the table, but the logjam beneath them is unforgiving; only three points separate seventh from the lower rungs. Mauerwerk, with just eight points and a sputtering attack, are left to ponder their path forward with urgency.

Looking ahead, Red Star will see this match as a springboard. With a defense that looked notably firmer and a midfield in sync, Dvorak’s team now has an opportunity to build consistency—a quality sorely lacking in September’s stumbles. The next fixtures will test whether tonight’s performance was an inflection point or just a fleeting high.

For Mauerwerk, the road grows steeper. Winless since early September, and with another goalless outing stoking concern, their task is clear but daunting: rediscover their scoring touch and steel themselves for a relegation scrap that is becoming harder to ignore. Each of their next matches carries heightened stakes—a fact not lost on Sefa, whose post-match debrief will surely focus on defensive lapses and the need for attacking revival.

On a chilly October night in Vienna, Red Star Penzing reminded themselves—and their rivals—of the difference a bit of resolve can make. Whether this victory marks the start of a genuine push up the Landesliga table, only time will tell. What’s certain is that tonight, the spark returned to Sportplatz Red Star Auto, and, for now, hope has the upper hand.