Zoran Barisic had already made it clear during the week that he we would see some player rotation for the visit of Wiener Neustadt, and hence the starting line-up came as no surprise. Jan Novota was restored in goal, Stefan Stangl and Christopher Dibon were drafted into the defence, whilst in a forced change Brian Behrendt came in for the suspended Stefan Schwab. Regardless of the names on the team sheet, the goal was quite clear: take points from the game and secure second place and avoid any potential final day drama. Opponents Wiener Neustadt, by contrast, were desperately searching for points themselves in their battle to avoid the drop. Failure to convert from penalty spot It didn't take long for Rapid to feel their way into the game and begin creating chances: Robert Beric found the advanced Mario Pavelic, who got a touch too much elevation on his shot (7.). Brian Behrendt then had a sight of goal but also lifted his effort of the crossbar, before what would be the best chance of the afternoon arrived: Robert Beric tried to get on the end of corner but had his shirt pulled and referee Harkam awarded a penalty. Steffen Hofmann stepped up, but was unable to repeat his derby heroics as the ball cannoned off the crossbar (24.). Goalless at the intervalTaking the lead from the penalty spot would have been important in the context of the match. During the first half Rapid enjoyed 80% of the possession, with Wiener Neustadt happy to cling onto a point and play the role of spoiler. But it wasn’t to be, and the teams went into the half time break with the deadlock still intact. The pattern of the second half changed little, with Rapid setting the tone, probing the guests and looking for the break through. Ex-Wiener Neustadt man Stangl had the chance to put one over his former employers, but after picking up a slide rule pass he put his effort past the far post (53.). Just under 16,000 Rapid fans had come out for the final home encounter of the season, and they certainly wouldn't have criticised the amount of effort the Hütteldorfers were putting into finding the breakthrough. A Thanos Petsos effort kept the guests' defence on their toes (69.), but the biggest cheer of the afternoon was reserved for the introduction of substitute Louis Schaub, who made his long awaited comeback after recovering from a broken bone in his foot. The season’s efforts rewardedRapid continued to try and force a way through in the closing stages, but the resolute Wiener Neustadt defence held firm. A point was scant reward for a dominant performance, but it wasn't simply a point gained: with the draw this young Rapid side secured second place in the Bundesliga table. An even more impressive undertaking considering the Hütteldorfers still have 180 minutes of football to contest! (gw)
25.05.2015