Rapid travelled to face Porto on thursday in high spirits. The match in the Dragao Stadium against the group favourites was unlikely to be the crucial fixture with regards the Green White's hopes of progression to the next round, and anything picked up in Portugal would have to be viewed as a bonus, ahead of the first home game against Besiktas. Peter Pacult's pre match preparation went out of the window somewhat, as just minutes before kick off experienced campaigner Markus Katzer was forced to withdraw from the starting line up after injuring himself in the warm up. The travelling Green White Army were in full voice again. The 1400 strong Rapid contingent in the stadium ensured the warm portuguese night air was filled with terrace anthems imported straight from Hütteldorf. A strong display of home support ensured a crowd of over 30,000 was in attendance and the scene was set for a tense and thrilling opening match in group L of the Europa League.  Straight from the off the portuguese giants found their rythmn, making Rapid chase possesion in the hot evening sun, dictating play and stroking the ball about comfortably. The opening goal came as little suprise in the 26th minute as Rolando slotted home from close range following confusion in the Rapid box from a Porto corner. Pacult's men were having to work hard and were conceding chances to the hosts but at one nil the game was still very much alive. This point was highlighted on the stroke of half time when a lovely flowing move created an excellent shooting chance for Stefan Kulovits. The midfield man timed his run into the box to perfection and met the ball with a first time left foot effort from about 16 yards. Home keeper Helton could only look on in anguish as the ball missed the target by a matter of inches.The second half went much the same way as the first. Tanju Kayhan survived animated penalty appeals after a lunge on (the!) Hulk but it was all made academic in the 65 minute. Highly rated striker Falcao beat Hedl at the second time of asking, again from a corner, to double the hosts lead and give the Hütteldorfers a mountain to climb. Seeing the game slipping away, Pacult withdrew star man Hofmann from the game, with Kulovits taking over as skipper. The portuguese had a further goal in them and it turned out to be a cracker, Ruben Micael smashed home from 20 yards following some one touch football, giving Hedl no chance and wrapping up the victory in style.A 3:0-defeat is not the ideal way to open the group, but this was always going to be a very tough trip. The teams from Turkey and Bulgaria will also be unlikely to get much change out of Porto at the Dragao. The important clashes were always going to be with the Istanbul and Sofia sides, and next time out Rapid will face Besiktas in a packed out Ernst Happel stadium. The Turkish side picked up a last minute hom win over CSKA Sofia in the other group L match and will come to Vienna in confident mood. It should be a fantastic evening, and a game in which the Hütteldorfers will be looking to take 3 points from and get their campaign up and running.   FC Porto - SK Rapid 3:0 (1:0)Estadio do Dragao, 30.004 Zuschauer, SR McDonald (SCO)Torfolge: 1:0 Rolando (26.), 2:0 Falcao (65.), 3:0 Ruben Micael (77.)Porto: Helton - Fucile, Maicon, Rolando, Pereira - Ruben Micael (84./Castro), Fernando, Moutinho - Hulk (68./Belluschi), Falcao (78./Walter), RodriguezSK Rapid: Hedl - Kayhan, Sonnleitner, Soma, Dober (80./Patocka) - Hinum, Kulovits - Saurer (62./Drazan), Hofmann (73./Trimmel), Kavlak - NuhiuYellow Cards: Rodriguez Dober, Hinum(gw)