Twenty minutes before kick off returning hero Peter Schöttel walked onto the pitch to a rapturous reception from the 16,900 strong Hannapi crowd. Chants of "Peter Schöttel" and "Welcome home Peter" rang out from the Block West. A true Rapidler, Schöttel made a staggering 524 appearances for Rapid, hanging up his boots in 2001. He made the number 5 jersey his own during his astonishing career which included 49 European appearances. Schöttel took up a postion with Wiener Neustadt in December and must have enjoyed his first return to the Hanappi. A fitting reception for a true Rapid great. So onto the game. The first opportunity arrived on 5 minutes in the shape of an Andi Dober free kick which fizzed past Fornezzi's upright. Far from overawed however, the visitors manufactured a few good openings of their own, with Wolf looking particularly lively down the left flank. On 11 minutes a Wolf centre reached Viana in a dangerous position but Ragnvald Soma was on hand to clear the ball away for a corner.    On 15 minutes Dober again had an opportunty, his left footed shot clearing the bar following Hannes Eder's knock down from a Hofmann free kick. Minutes later the lively Viana came close again. The forward latched onto a superb ball but with just the keeper to beat, Raimund Hedl stood tall and ensured the game stayed all square. A Hannes Eder header then went just over for Rapid before Hofmann nearly caught out Neustadt keeper Fornezzi direct from a corner, the goalie just managing to back peddle and tip the ball away to safety.  The pressure proved to be too much for the visitors from Lower Austria as they finally succumbed to a Jelavic opener. The Croatian marksman rose highest to get on the end of a Hofmann corner to direct his header, via the post, into the back of the net. Boskovic could have doubled Rapid's advantage 5 minutes later but his effort was repelled by the increasingly busy Fornezzi. Schöttel's side managed to close out the half as the teams entered the dressing room with the score at 1:0. Rapid got underway looking to pick up where they had left off. Boskovic signalled the intent on 50 minutes, his shot narrowly rising over the bar. Only two minutes later, Rapid doubled their lead and effectively ended the game as a contest. A deep Drazan ball headed to the back post where Jelavic stretched to keep the move alive, toe poking back to Steffen Hofmann. The Rapid skipper took a touch before firing a rasping shot into the roof of the net via the underside of the bar to bag his 16th of the season. A bubbly Rapid continued to press forwards and were rewarded in the 80th minute. Thonhofer put an inviting cross into the box and found Jelavic happy to oblige and grab a brace. Jelavic again rose above the Wiener Neustadt defence to send home a second header of the afternoon. It was a great way to cap off an excellent afternoon's work for the in form striker. There was still time for a bit more drama as Johana picked up a second yellow to earn himself a largely accademic sending off. It was to be the last significant action of the afternoon as Rapid recorded a deserved 3:0 victory over an oppostion who must be sick of the sight of Green & White.31th round:SK Rapid - Wiener Neustadt 3:0 (1:0)Vienna, Hanappi-Stadion, 16.900, Referee PrammerGoals: 1:0 Jelavic (21.), 2:0 Hofmann (54.), 3:0 Jelavic (80.)SK Rapid: Hedl - Dober, H. Eder, Soma, Thonhofer - Hofmann, Heikkinen, Boskovic (84. Pehlivan), Drazan (64. Kavlak) - Jelavic, Salihi (78. Trimmel)Wiener Neustadt: Fornezzi - Kayhan (70. Dunst), Johana, Ramsebner, Klapf - P. Wolf (59. Simkovic), Reiter, Kolousek, Gercaliu, G. Burgstaller - Viana (65. Sadovic)Y/R: Johana (84./Foul)Yellow Cards: Dober Reiter, Klapf, G. Burgstaller, Simkovic, Dunst(gw)
31.08.2015