The visitors came into the clash having won their last three games without conceding a goal, the most recent of which being a 2-0 victory over Euro 2024 hosts Germany. And, with just six seconds on the clock, Baumgartner wrote himself into the history books, unleashing a precise effort from the edge of the box into the bottom-left corner.
Despite the disastrous start, the Falcons reacted well to going behind though and went in search of an equaliser, although they initially struggled to test Patrick Pentz in the Austria goal as a flurry of shots went wide of the post. However, they did manage to force Pentz into action just before the half-hour mark after Tomas Suslov played the ball to Lukas Haraslin, but the Sparta Prague winger saw his shot from the centre of the box thwarted by a fantastic reaction save.
The away side dominated possession for the majority of the game but were finding clear goalscoring opportunities hard to come by. They went close 10 minutes after the break, however, when Michael Gregoritsch drilled a first-time effort towards the bottom corner only to be denied by Martin Dubravka. Another chance went begging just a few moments later, with Baumgartner firing an effort narrowly wide of the post.
Austria added a second goal with seven minutes remaining, as substitute Andreas Weimann found the back of the net from close range following a Romano Schmid cut-back. Das Team subsequently saw out the game with ease as they continue their preparations for Euro 2024.
Meanwhile, Slovakia’s three-game winning run comes to an end, but they remain in good shape ahead of their third consecutive appearance in the continental showpiece next summer.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christoph Baumgartner (Austria)
