Following on from the sensational derby mauling of Austria on the weekend, the match with Graz marked  the mid point of this crucial week. The visit of the Styrians provided Pacult´s charges with the chance to take top spot in the Bundesliga ahead of Sunday´s crunch trip to Salzburg to face Red Bull. The opening 10 minutes saw half chances come and go for both sides. Salihi flashed a header wide of the upright in the second minute, while Kavlak tested Grazei in the Sturm goal from 20 yards. At the other end, Helge Payer was quickly off his line to deny Lavric. The Rapid custodian was again called into action, producing a smart stop from Jantscher´s free kick. The first move of real quality broke the deadlock with 16 minutes on the clock. Showing great industry, Veli Kavlak won possesion of the ball in his own half. The wideman drove forwards before feeding the ball into Steffen Hofmann. The Rapid captain played a sublime first time ball to release Jelavic one on one with the Sturm stopper. The Croatian marksman clamly rounded Grazei before slotting home with his left foot to round of a clinical Rapid move. The following period of play produced little goal mouth action, although both sides were showing enough to suggest there could be more goals in the match. It was Rapid, again through Jelavic, who came closest to finding the games second. A 32nd minute corner bobbled loose in the Graz box before finding its way to Jelavic who met it with an acrobatic bicycle kick. The shot just lacked a little power to really trouble Grazei in the away goal. On the stroke of half time Rapid had penalty appeals waved away by referee Gangl after Kavlak appreared to be felled in the box. There was time for one more moment of controversy as Graz put the ball in the Rapid net only to have their celebrations halted by the referee after he spotted a foul on Ragnvald Soma. TV replays suggested the official got that decision spot on, the Rapid centre half being impeded as he attempted to challenge for a corner. Rapid came out of the traps quickly in the second half. Jelavic fired of a snap shot in the 48th minute as the Green Whites looked to take the initiative. Hamdi Salihi was unlucky not to double the Hütteldorfers advantage in the 52nd minute. Following an almighty scramble in the Graz box the ball broke to the striker, his instinctive close range effort coming back off the upright. Rapid were made to pay for their inability to kill off the opposition in the 59th minute. Andreas Hölzl broke down the right, his low cross met by the on coming Lavric who restored parity with a crisp first time effort past Helge Payer. There was a worrying sight for Rapid in the 63rd minute. An injured Steffen Hofmann was replaced by Andi Dober. Hopefully the Rapid skipper returns in time for sunday´s clash. Stefan Kulovits nearly put Rapid back in front in the 68th minute. Newly deployed on the right flank, the Rapid utility man met Veli Kavlaks cross, his effort guided narrowly the wrong side of the upright. Markus Katzer then put in a great challenge to repell a Graz attack as the visitors, boyued by the injury to Steffen Hofmann, began to eye all three points. Payer gathered in Hölzl´s low drive in the 78th minute as the visitors looked like getting on top. Pacult responded to the shift in momentum, throwing on Trimmel in place of Yasin Pehlivan. Stefan Kulovits again proved his versatility, taking a central midfield role in his third different position of the game. With 10 minutes left the decibel levels rose in the crowd, as the legions of Green Whites once again tried to elevate their team. It worked. A stinging Dober drive just went wide while Kavlak fired over following great work from Heikkinen. The energy bounced between the fans and the team, both inspiring the other as between them they turned the game around. The Graz resistance finally yielded in the 89th minute. A poor piece of defending on the edge of the box saw Jelavic baring down on Gratzei once more. Again the hitman kept his cool and rounded the keeper before being unceremoniously upended. Incredibly the goalie was still on the pitch to face the resulting penalty, the referee somehow deeming the challenge worthy of only a yellow card. Hamdi Salihi stepped up and beat the keeper low to his left to send the crowd into delirium and hand Rapid a deserved three points from a difficult encounter. This was an excellent win for Rapid, especially whilst missing key names. Pacult will be hoping to have some of his more creative players back as the Green Whites look for a third victory in a week in sunday´s showdown in Salzburg. SK Rapid - Sturm Graz 2:1 (1:0)Gerhard-Hanappi-Stadion, 17.200, Referee Gangl Goals: 1:0 Jelavic (16.), 1:1 Lavric (60.), 2:1 Salihi (89./Penalty) Rapid: Payer - Kulovits, Soma, Jovanovic, Katzer - Hofmann (63./Dober), Heikkinen, Pehlivan (79./Trimmel), Kavlak - Jelavic, Salihi (90./Gartler)Sturm: Gratzei - Ehrenreich, Schildenfeld, Sonnleitner, Prettenthaler (91./Weinberger) - Hölzl, Muratovic, Kandelaki, Jantscher (80./Bukva) - Beichler - LavricYellow Cards: Hölzl, Jantscher, Beichler, Gratzei, Schildenfeld (gw)
31.08.2015