The 47.000 strong crowd treated the rest of Europe to a stunning opening scene, turning the Ernst Happel stadium into a sea of green, white, red and blue as the teams entered the arena before kick off. Hats off again to the magnificent Rapid fans who take the time to make these images become reality. A look at the line ups suggested that Rapid could be in for a tough match. The Besiktas side boasted names such as Portuguese star Ricardo Quaresma, Real Madrid favourite Guti and experienced italian centre back Matteo Ferrari. Pacult set his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Yasin Pehlivan and Stefan Kulovits looking to anchor the viennese from deep lying midfield postions. Up ahead Steffen Hofmann was employed in the hole behind lone striker Atdhe Nuhiu, while Mario Sonnleitner was shifted to right back to deal with the threat of Quaresma.The opening phase of the game belonged almost exclusively to Besiktas' portugese trickster. The summer capture from Inter Milan was at the heart of everything the Istanbul side did and was unlucky not to hand his side the advantage on 12 minutes as he broke into the box and fired a rasping effort against the inside of the post.The little wing maestro was withdrawn midway through the first period owing to what appeared to be a thigh strain and with him went the games sparkle. The closest either side came to breaking the deadlock was a Hilbert drive in the 39th minute, Rapid keeper Hedl producing a smart stop to push the ball away to safety. With Kulovits and Pehlivan forming a defensive screen in front of the back four, Rapid had a solid, if not spectacular feel about them. A flurry of Besiktas corners failed to materialise into a chance and the referee's whistle brought to an end an interesting but, as of yet, unexplosive encounter.Rapid emerged from the half time dressing room looking energised and immediately pushed Besiktas back and took the upper hand. After two second half minutes Nuhiu had a chance but was pushed wide and couldn't get the necessary angle on his shot to test the keeper. The home fans didn't have to wait long to celebrate however, as Veli Kavlak slotted home in the 50th minute. The wide man latched onto a Pehlivan pass and curled a sumptious effort beyond the reach of flailing keeper Ankan into the far corner of the net. Que wild celebrations from 47.000 viennese. Nuhiu then passed up the opportunity to double the advantage and was made to pay as the visitors went straight up the other and levelled proceedings. Holosko chased what looked a lost cause but a Raimund Hedl fumble presented the Slovakian forward with an empty net. Holosko duely obliged and triggered wild scenes in the away end amongst the band of travellers from Turkey.It was a huge blow to Rapid who needed time to consolidate the hard earned advantage, but it proved to be just the tonic for Besiktas, for whom Spanish legend Guti was really starting to pull the strings in midfield. The Rapid backline continued to creak under growing pressure, the Istanbul outfit getting in behind the high defensive line time and time again. Holosko hit the bar on 57 minutes after a 1 on 1 with Hedl, before Bobo took advantage of more gaps in the channels, coming out on top in another 1 on 1 with the exposed Rapid keeper to give the away side the lead. Pacult reacted by introducing Vennegoor of Hesselink in place of the largely peripheral figure of Christopher Trimmel. The sold out crowd were doing their best to spur their side on to the equaliser, but on the pitch it remained tough going against the technically proficient turks. Pacult went for broke in the 80th minute, bringing on Hamdi Salihi as the third striker. The green whites managed to create one last fantastic opportunity for Jan VoH with seven minutes remaining on the clock. A superb Kavlak cross found the dutchman 7 yards from goal and totally unmarked but his header lacked placement and went straight down keeper Ankan's throat. The Hütteldorfers gave their all, but were forced to concede defeat as the full time whistle went after 4 minutes of injury time.The defeat represents a big blow to Rapid's quaification hopes and makes 6 points out of 6 against Bulgarians CSKA Sofia vital. With four games to go progression is not out of the question but it's going to take a big effort to turn the group around.UEFA Europa League:SK Rapid - Besiktas Istanbul 1:2 (0:0)Ernst-Happel-Stadion, 50.000, SR Kulbakow (BLR)Goals: 1:0 Kavlak (51.), 1:1 Holosko (55.), 1:2 Bobo (64.)SK Rapid: Hedl - Sonnleitner, Patocka, Soma, Kayhan - Kulovits, Pehlivan (80./Salihi) - Trimmel (67./Vennegoor of Hesselink), Hofmann, Kavlak - NuhiuBesiktas: Arikan - Hilbert, Toraman, Ferrari, Üzülmez - Aurelio, Ernst - Tabata, Guti (87./Uysal), Quaresma (32./Holosko) - Bobo (76./Nobre)Yellow Cards: Pehlivan, Kulovits, Vennegoor of Hesselink bzw. Toraman, Arikan(gw)
31.08.2015