Rapid's fifth engagement of the 2015/16 Bundesliga saw them travel to Styria to face another of the league's big hitters on their own pitch. Having already recorded impressive away wins against RB Salzburg and Austria Vienna, Rapid took on Sturm Graz at a sun drenched and sold out UPC Arena. Encounters between the Graz and the Hütteldorfers have a history of being enthralling affairs, and this occasion was to prove no exception.
Early enforced change
Before either side had found much in the way of forward momentum, there was concern on the Rapid bench as Zoran Barisic was forced into making an early change: Stefan Stangl cleared the ball in the left back position after winning an innocuous looking challenge against Sturm man Schick, but collapsed to the ground in pain, signalling immediately to the bench. MarioPavelic came on as his replacement, slotting in a right back with Stefan Auerswapping flanks to play next Mario Sonnleitner on the left of the defence.
Rapid trail at half time in game of fine margins
After the lengthy pause for Stangl's treatment, a cagey game developed, with both sides being restricted to hopeful balls into the box and long range efforts. A Mario Sonnleitner header that was deflected for a corner from a FloKainz free-kick was Rapid’s best early sight of goal (12.), while the home fans had to wait until just before the half-hour mark before their side properly tested Jan Novota - who was more than equal to Avdijaj's shot from distance (29.). However just five minutes later Sturm had forged ahead; albeit in contentious circumstances: referee Muckenhammer surprisingly pointed to the spot after adjudging that Pavelic's challenge on Dobras had unfairly impeded the Sturm player, despite minimal contact. Anel Hadzic made the most of the generous decision, sending Novota the wrong way to hand the hosts the lead - 0:1 (34.).
As the game approached the interval Rapid should have drawn level: superb interplay between Schaub and Kainz saw Schaub get into the penalty area behind the Graz defence, where he cut the ball across the goal mouth whereProsenik, starting in place of Robert Beric, needed only to apply the faintest of touches to score but failed to make contact with the ball (42.). The Green & Whites' disappointment was compounded before the break when on receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Avdijaj easily skipped inside MaxHofmann before firing an unstoppable low shot into the bottom right hand corner of Novota's goal to double Sturm's lead in first half injury time - 0:2 (45.).
On the comeback trail
After a quiet start to the second half from both sides, the double substitution that brought into the action big hitters Steffen Hofmann and Robert Bericchanged the tide of the match. With Rapid forcing back Graz and exerting upon them a sustained period of pressure, it looked like the crucial breakthrough had arrived: Philipp Schobesberger cut into the box off of the right flank, received the ball, danced inside his marker and beyond the reach of goalie Esser before crisply striking the ball towards the empty net, only for a super intervention from a Sturm defender on the goal line to deny him an important goal (68.).
Beric gets Rapid back in the hunt
If Graz thought they had survived a major scare they were mistaken, as Rapid finally got on the scoreboard through a familiar source: a swift attack down the flanks resulted with the ball being fed in to Beric, who after a neat one-two with Pavelic in a crowded penalty area found himself in on Graz keeper Esser, whom he coolly rounded before slotting home into an empty net - 1:2 (70.) and Rapid well and true back in the match with over twenty minutes still to play! With the Green & Whites forced to commit bodies forwards spaces opened up at the back which their opponents looked to utilise: Avdijaj again found room to shoot inside the Hütteldorfer penalty area and Rapid were again indebted to their number 1 as Novota produced a smart reflex save that kept hopes of salvaging the match alive (75.).
Never say die attitude
Rapid kept pounding away on the Graz goal as a nervous home crowd sensed that their once commanding lead looked increasingly shaky. Finally the pressure told when another excellent corner from Kainz was whipped in with pace into a packed penalty area, where the unfortunate Madl guided it with the back of his head into the net - 2:2 (88.)! Incredibly Rapid had pulled the game out of the fire, and were now favourites to land the killer blow and take all three points. With four minutes of injury time signalled Rapid poured forward in search of the winner. It nearly arrived too, as Schobesberger found Kainz in space in the left hand side of the penalty, but his first touch disserted him at the crucial moment and a clear cut chance to grab a third was gone (90.).
In the end both sides had to settle for a 2:2 draw; a result surely more satisfying from a Hütteldorfer perspective. The result keeps Rapid top of the league after five matches, and having negotiated difficult trips to Salzburg, Favoriten and now Graz, their unbeaten start to the campaign continues to look increasingly impressive.
tipico Bundesliga, Match Day 5
Sturm Graz - SK Rapid 2:2 (2:0)
UPC-Arena, Ref Muckenhammer
Goals: 1:0 Hadzic (34.), 2:0 Avdijaj (45.+3), 2:1 Beric (70.), 2:2 Madl (88./Own Goal);
SK Rapid: Novota; Auer, M. Hofmann, Sonnleitner (K), Stangl (7. Pavelic); Schwab (55. S. Hofmann), Petsos; Kainz, Schaub, Schobesberger; Prosenik (63. Beric);
Sturm Graz: Esser, Hadzic (60. Piesinger), Tadic (74. Edomwonyi), Madl, Ehrenreich, Potzmann, Spendlhofer, Kamavuaka, Dobras, Schick (77. Gruber), Avdijaj;
Yellow cards: Hadzic, Ehrenreich, Potzmann, Avdijaj bzw. Schaub, Pavelic, F. Kainz;
(gw)