It was a more familiar looking line up the took to the field for Rapid following sunday's nailbiter in Favoriten. Hedl returned to the line up, as did Nuhiu and Katzer. Kulovits and Hinum were paired together in central midfield again for the Green Whites in the absence of finnish enforcer Markus Heikkinen. Following an open start to proceedings, it was the Hütteldorfers, who nearly got their noses in front, Hofmann pulling the home sides defence apart with a cracking pass to Hinum. The summer signing dragged his left foot shot wide of the upright from 15 yards with only eight minutes on the clock. As has so often been the case recently, the missed chance came back to haunt Rapid only a matter of seconds later. The returning Markus Katzer was harshly adjudged to have given away a free kick on the edge of the box, and up stepped much talked about spaniard Carril to take full advantage. His decidely average free kick somehow deceived Hedl and ended up in the back of the net, crossing the line low and more or less in the centre of the goal. Rapid responded well though and were level in the 13th minute, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink expertly nodding home Steffen Hofmann's delightful cross. It was just the tonic Rapid needed, although suprisingly the Hütteldorfers still didn't really settle into a rythmn. Looking dangerous going forwards and at the same time shaky at the back, the green white performance was littered with individual errors and nervous mistakes. The hosts made the Viennese pay in the 25th minute and restored their one goal advantage. With Ragnvald Soma dragged out to the left back position, the ball was fed into Nacho's feet, who, with an alarming amount of space, turned and easily beat Hedl from a fair distance out. The home side who continued to press on after the strike: they shaved the bar with a header in the 39th minute, while just seconds later poor distrubution from Hedl saw the ball drop to Mader who tried an audacious chip, the stranded Rapid keeper breathed a huge sigh of relief as the ball just drifted wide of the upright. On the stroke of half time, Sonnleitner survived strong penalty appeals following a clash in the box. The half time whistle went at the right time for Rapid who would have to show marked improvement in the second half to salvage the tie. Pacult's troops emerged for the second half looking like a changed side, on the front foot, dangerous, and more assured at the back. The renewed effort nearly paid dividends in the 51st minute as Nuhiu beat home keeper Hesl to the ball and force it over the line, only to have the effort incredibly ruled out for a foul on the keeper. It was a bizarre decision, and replay's only served to justify the bemused look on the tall hitman's face. Unpreturbed, the Green Whites pushed on, looking threatening and finally clicking into gear and playing some good stuff. Hofmann, Kavlak and Hinum were growing and looking more and more of a threat to the hosts. And on 57 minutes, it was Hofmann and Hinum who combined to set up Nuhiu, his first time effort brilliantly kept out by Hesl, this time legitimately. Just three minutes later, the home keeper again denied Nuhiu, this time from a Kavlak cross. Rapid were really beginning to turn the screw, the home side visibly wilting under prolonged pressure. The game became more stretched and Captain Hofmann looked evermore jaded following his long stint in the cup on the weekend. The Rapid skipper continues to defy the injury odds to give his all for the cause, but it caught up with him in the 77th minute as the tired maestro was replaced by Christopher Trimmel. With Hofmann went Rapids momentum. Pacult tried to up the ante once more with 10 minutes to go by replacing Hinum with Salihi and shifting to a 4-3-3, Kavlak took up a central postion in midfield with the newly introduced albanian marksman playing on the left side of a forward three. There was to be one more goal in the game, unfortunately again for the hosts as Hadzic beat Kayhan at the back post to score his sides third of the evening. The goal ensured Viennese returned to the capital empty handed for the third league game on the trot. It was a match though with bright spots for Rapid, particularly in the shape of Jan V. o. Hesselink's first goal for the club and the third quarter of the game where Rapid looked to be their old selves again. Kapfenberg are the weekend visitors to the Hanappi in a game that Rapid simply must win, if they are to get themselves back into contention for the Bundesliga title. However, the Steiermark side travel to Vienna in the unusual position of being just one point behind Rapid and will be looking to take something from what could be a fascinating encounter.8th round:SV Ried - SK Rapid 3:1 (2:1)Keine-Sorgen-Arena, 7.600 Zuschauer, SR GanglGoals: 1:0 Carril (9.), 1:1 Vennegoor of Hesselink (13.), 2:1 Nacho (25.), 3:1 Hadzic (90.)SV Ried: Hesl - Hadzic, Stocklasa, Riegler - Brenner, Mader, Schrammel - Lexa (52./Royer), Carril (78./Prettenthaler), Nacho (84./Reifeltshammer) - HammererSK Rapid: Hedl - Kayhan, Sonnleitner, Soma, Katzer - Hofmann (77./Trimmel), Kulovits, Hinum (81./Salihi), Kavlak - Vennegoor of Hesselink, NuhiuYellow Cards: Mader, Schrammel Soma, Kavlak, Vennegoor of Hesselink
31.08.2015