Rapid stroll to 5:1 win in ÖFB Cup
On Wednesday night Rapid welcomed Austria Salzburg to Vienna in a game for the purists. Despite the history around the tie the gulf in class was in evidence as the Green & Whites bushed the Violets from Salzburg aside as they recorded a 5:1 romp.
The return of this fixture to the footballing calendar is certainly reason for celebration, despite this only being a cup clash rather than a Bundesliga fixture. It had been over 13 years since Rapid had squared up to tradition-rich Austria Salzburg hence the great anticipation in the build to the match from both sides. Despite the attendance being somewhat lower than during recent outings against Plzen and the derby, the fans packed into the end stands and created a terrific atmosphere worthy of the occasion. On the pitch there was no messing around from Zoran Barisic's much changed side, who went about pushing their second division opponents onto the back foot from the off.
The early pressure paid off handsomely for the Hütteldorfers, who had virtually ended the game as a contest within the first ten minutes: firstly a cross from Deni Alar was spilled by Salzburg keeper Ebner, with Philipp Schobesberger on hand to mop up and score the first of the night - 1:0 (7.). The second arrived quickly afterwards as Schobesberger produced a stylish finish from Philipp Prosenik's pin-point pass to double his tally for the evening - 2:0 (9.). Prosenik passed up a good opportunity to really kill the game off early on (18.), but there was little to suggest the Rapid's lead was going to come into serious jeopardy. Prosenik tested Ebner with a header a few minutes later (26.) as it became increasingly clear that despite their rich history Austria Salzburg's ambitions this year extend little further than survival in Austrian football's second tier.
Stefan Schwab and Mario Pavelic joined proceedings from the bench following the break to add a bit of steel and security to a Rapid side two goals up and looking to cruise home. Deni Alar came within inches of adding a third when his powerful effort crashed into the crossbar (64.), whilst Schobesberger missed a one on one chance with the guests' goalkeeper to bag himself a hat-trick (67.). It came as little surprise when the next goal did finally arrive: a Green & White counter attack saw several players charge the Salzburg goal, with responsibility finally falling to Prosenik, who made no mistake in sweeping home a third - 3:0 (69.).
Kaufmann gave the travelling Salzburg fans something to cheer when he pulled one back at the beginning of the Rapid Viertelstunde (75.), but any Salzburg joy was to prove short lived. Tomi, making his competitive debut in Green & White, produced a smart finish to restore Rapid's three goal cushion (81.), before a slick passing move involving Schobesberger ended up with Deni Alar firing home to round off the scoring for the evening as the game wore down - 5:1 (87.). It was a very authoritive and convincing display from Rapid against a clearly inferior opponent that sees them book themselves a place in the ÖFB Cup quarter finals! Following the intensity of the clashes in recent weeks, a gentle work out against Austria Salzburg gave some squad players minutes on the pitch and provided a comfortable evening’s viewing for all in Green & White.
(gw)
ÖFB-Samsung-Cup, Last 16:
SK Rapid - Austria Salzburg 5:1 (2:0)
Goals: 1:0 Schobesberger (8.), 2:0 Schobesberger (10.), 3:0 Prosenik (69.), 3:1 Kaufmann (75.), 4:1 Tomi (81.), 5:1 Alar (87.);
SK Rapid: Strebinger; Auer, Sonnleitner, M. Hofmann, Stangl (54. Pavelic); Petsos (55. Schwab), Grahovac; Schobesberger, Tomi, Alar; Prosenik (73. Jelic);