Before the action got under way Rapid legend Leopold Gernhardt received a warm 90th birthday ovation from all corners of the ground.With the pleasentries taken care of the teams took to the pitch and the battle commenced. The opening 45 minutes were a tetchy affair, a game of cat and mouse. Rapid settled into a fluent rythmn, moving the ball about and looking to pick holes in the Austria reargaurd. The Favoriten side were cautious and looking to counter attack, their early season 4 -1 mauling possibly in the forefront of their planning. A 20th minute Steffen Hofmann free kick tested Lindner in the Violet goal while Austria's best opportunity saw Junuzovic thwarted by Hedl's feet in the 39th minute.The second half began in much the same fashion as the first, cagey and edgey. In the 68th minute Rapid finally blew the doors down. A moment of madness from Austria defender Bak saw him clearly elbow Mario Konrad in the face, and after conulting the linesman, referee Grobelnik pointed to the spot. Steffen Hofmann stepped up and rifled the penalty into the roof of the net to send the Hanappi Stadium into a frenzy.Rapid continued to push, forward looking to seal the win. With the visitors gameplan shattered they looked creaky and there for the taking. It was no suprise when in the 76th minute the Hütteldorfers doubled their advantage. A delicious cross from Christopher Drazan was inch perfect for the on rushing Nikica Jelavic who calmly stroked the ball home on the volley. The man in the mask wheeled away to celebrate, leaving a dejected Austria side in his wake.The visitors frustrations manifested themselves in the closing stages. Baumgartlinger received a second yellow in the 87th minute and shortly after he was joined by Milenko Acimovic for an early bath. Acimovic, the Austria Captain, received his marching orders for a straight red in the 91st minute. There was nearly a consolation for the 9 man visitors as Sulimani's free kick rebounded off the woodwork.Following a tepid first half Rapid ran out convincing winners in the second, reaffirming their superiority over their cross city neighbours. With Rapid now up and running again, next up is a tricky trip to the Steiermark to face Graz. Pacult will be looking for back to back maximums as Rapid try to reel in league leaders RB Salzburg.SK Rapid - FK Austria 2:0 (0:0)Hanappi-Stadion, 17.500, Referee GrobelnikGoals: 1:0 Hofmann (68., Penalty), 2:0 Jelavic (76.)SK Rapid: Hedl - Kulovits (81. Dober), H. Eder, Soma, Katzer - Hofmann, Heikkinen, Pehlivan (56. Boskovic), Kavlak (56. Drazan) - Jelavic, KonradFK Austria: Lindner - Standfest, Bak, Dragovic, Suttner - Klein (77. Diabang), Hattenberger, Junuzovic (83. Sulimani), Baumgartlinger, Acimovic - Linz (65. Schumacher)Yellow Card: BakY/R: Baumgartlinger (87.)Red Card: Acimovic (91.) (gw)
31.08.2015