A 17,000 crowd once again packed into the Hanappi on a chilly Sunday afternoon. The home fans didn´t have to wait long to see Rapid take the lead, Markus Katzer nodding the Green - Whites ahead in the 6th minute from Steffen Hofmann´s inswinging free kick.In the 18th minute Hofmann was denied a what looked a blatant penalty following some trickery in the opponents box. The howls of disapproval from the terraces soon subsided however as just 6 minutes later Rapid doubled their advantage. Rene Gartler, making his competitive debut this season, took a snap shot from the right side of the area. His effort took Bliem in the away goal by suprise and beat the motionless goalie all ends up. Chances came and went for Salihi & Hofmann, while Mr Reliable Helge Payer was quickly down at Naumoski´s feet to deny the visitors on the half hour mark. A powerful Salihi drive and a good effort from Kavlak just failed to add to the advantage as the half drew to an end.The second half began with Rapid playing in second or third gear. With Mattersburg unable to sufficiently trouble Payer & the backline, the Hütteldorfers were content to play keep ball. Rapid stepped it up a gear in the last 10 minutes to double the scoreline. With 5 minutes to go Veli Kavlak played in Salihi with a cute slide rule pass. The summer signing from Ried lashed the ball past Bliem at his near post. Their was still time for one more and in the 90th minute Steffen Hofmann blasted the goal of the evening. A pin point cross from the left picked out the on rushing Captain who met the ball on the full. Showing outstanding control he drove the ball through the keepers legs to round off a comfortable night for the home side.It was a magnificent display from the Rapid Captain and sometimes on nights like this he is worth the admission money on his own. Greater challenges lie ahead for Pacult´s men, but the Rapid trainer will be happy to get back to winning ways following a difficult last week.SK Rapid - Mattersburg 4:0 (2:0)Hanappi-Stadion, 17.200, Referee EisnerGoals: 1:0 Katzer (6.), 2:0 Gartler (24.), 3:0 Salihi (86.), 4:0 Hofmann (92.)SK Rapid: Payer - Dober, Soma, Patocka, Katzer - Hofmann, Pehlivan, Boskovic (60./Jovanovic), Kavlak - Salihi (91./Trimmel), Gartler (83./Drazan)Mattersburg: Bliem - Sedloski, Malic, Pöllhuber, Rath (79./Stjepanovic) - Atan, Seidl, Schmidt, Mörz - Naumoski (68./Wagner), Waltner (64./Spuller)(gw)
31.08.2015