Prior to kick off, a dazzling display of support from both ends of the ground set the tone. The east unveiling a Rapid logo and club colours, the west unveiling the message „Lets Go“ admist a sea of Green and White flags. „Lets Go“ was exactly what the Rapid team did, taking the lead in the first minute. Mario Konrad displayed excellent close control before spreading the ball wide to Drazan. His pin point cross found Nikica Jelavic unmarked in the box following a slip from Villa centre back Carlos Cueller. The Croatian hitman made no mistake from 8 yards. The atmosphere reaching breaking point.Rapid continued to apply the early pressure, a corner was followed by an ambitious shot from captain Steffen Hofmann, the Rapid players feeding off the electric atmosphere from the stands.Villa desparately searched for a foot hold in the game, with The Green – Whites continuing to threaten, mainly from set pieces.As the half wore on, Rapid grew into the game more and more, matching Aston Villa´s possesion football, forcing the English team back into their own half, ensuring the much heralded Villa wide man were tracking back rather than punching forwards.The Birmingham club found their first half chances limited, managing only a 39th minute low cross from the left, which Katzer did well to cut out, and a weak Emile Heskey drive that missed the target in the 38th minute.For Rapid, Steffen Hofmann became increasingly prevelant, drifting in off the right flank. He was almost rewarded in the 32nd minute, receiving the ball on the edge of the visitors area, cleverly jinking past his marking before seeing his goal bound shot blocked.As the teams returned to their half time dressing rooms, Peter Pacult would surely have been the happier of the two trainers. As sea of Green and White greated Helge Payer as the Rapid custodion re-emerged from the dressing room, the block West once again setting the tone for the second half.The first 10 minutes of the second half saw the game ebb and flow without either side looking penetrating, Rapid however regaining their first half territorial advantage. Martin O´Neill responded by introducing Gabby Agbonlahor in place of Craig Gardner in the 55th minute to try and give Villa some attacking momentum.Villa finally managed to work up a head of steam Rapid and get the game moving towards the home sides goal, Ashley Young proving a thorn in the home defence’ side. Peter Pacult made a timely change to stem the flow of Villa attacks, bringing on wideman Trimmel in place of hardworking forward Konrad, allowing Stefan Hofmann a free role.Villa still struggled to create clear cut openings, an off target Curtis Davies header the sum of the visitors attacking efforts.It was Rapid who looked the more threatening, nearly doubled their lead as Drazan was twice denied by last gasp Villa defending. The influential wideman´s first opportunity came in the 68th minute. Outstanding work from Hofmann put Drazan in with a clear sight of goal, a powerful low drive was acrobatically kept out by Brad Guzan in the visitors goalThree minutes later Drazan was again denied, this timne by a last ditch defensive block on the line. The freshly introduced Trimmel burst down the right and fed the ball into Yasin Pehlivan. The Rapid youngster poked the ball across the are with. Drazan meeting the ball with a stinging first time drive which was turned away by the defender´s desparate lunge.The game headed into last 20 mins with Rapid seizing the initiative and looking to extend their lead, the crowd responding in typical green white fashion to the excellent display from their team. The 83rd minute saw a very welcome sight as Branko Boskovic returned to the field of play following a long injury lay off to replace Markus Katzer.The late charge from Aston Villa failed to materialse, Rapid continuing to play out the last 10 minutes in the copmosed fashion in which they played the whole game. The final whistle blew and Rapid recorded a deserved victory over their illustrious opponents. Much was owed to the Hütteldorf crowd who again really were the 12th man for the Green & Whites.We now head to Birmingham for the second leg with a huge sense of anticipation, the tie finely balanced. If the Viennese can produce a similiar performance, dreams of Europa League qualification remain very much alive.SK Rapid - Aston Villa FC (1:0)Hanappi Stadion, 17.600 (sold out), Referee Dan TudorGoal: 1:0 Jelavic (1.)Rapid: Payer - Dober, Patocka, Jovanovic, Katzer - Hofmann, Heikkinen, Pehlivan, Drazan (82. Boskovic)- Jelavic, Konrad (62. Trimmel)Aston Villa: Guzan - Beye, Cuellar, Davies (81./Lowry), Shorey - Sidwell - Milner, Reo-Coker, Gardner (55./Agbonlahor), A. Young - HeskeyYellow Cards: Dober Sidwell(gw)
31.08.2015