With the tie finely poised after Thursday’s 1-1 draw in Vienna, it was very difficult to call a winner with both sides having strong recent records in the UNL.
Serbia were forced to play the game in front of a reduced home crowd following a UEFA sanction, and that appeared to have a negative impact on the Eagles in the first half as Austria controlled proceedings and looked the likelier to open the scoring.
The away side thought they had taken the lead with only six minutes on the clock when Konrad Laimer slotted home from inside the area, but the midfielder was adjudged to be in an offside position when receiving the pass.
Dusan Vlahovic’s left-footed effort from 25 yards flew narrowly wide of the post as Serbia began to work their way into the contest, but the visitors went close again shortly after when Romano Schmid’s effort from near the byline was pushed behind by goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic to ensure the score remained level at the break.
Having not looked particularly threatening from an attacking perspective, Serbia were given a helping hand to allow them to take the lead with their first shot on target.
Nicolas Seiwald’s pass to Alexander Schlager was misjudged by the goalkeeper, and the ball came back off the post before Nemanja Maksimovic reacted quickest to direct the ball home and put the Eagles ahead in a somewhat comical fashion.
The goal appeared to have given the hosts some confidence and a through ball looked to have played substitute Luka Jovic in, but Schlager came off his line decisively to close the gap and just get to the ball before the striker to clear the danger.
Austria’s task of getting back into the tie looked challenging, and it was made all the more difficult with just over 20 minutes remaining when Gernot Trauner was shown a straight red card when he made a cynical foul as the last man.
Having had an earlier goal ruled out for offside, Vlahovic ensured he had the last laugh in the first minute of stoppage time when he broke into the area and unleashed an effort that found the bottom corner to seal the victory, which ensured Serbia will compete in League A once again in the 2026/27 cycle, while Austria remain in League B.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nemanja Maksimovic (Serbia)