Sunday saw the visit of in form league leaders Sturm Graz to the Hanappi. Pacult switched the formation following the desappointing defeat at the hands of CSKA Sofia, reverting to a 4-4-2 and pairing Rene Gartler and Hamdi Salihi in attack. Christoph Saurer came into the midfield at the expense of Trimmel in a move aimed at injecting some extra creativity into the side. "Vienna wants to see you win again" was the message from the West Stand, and the team flew out of the traps, looking keen to oblige. An early Kavlak corner swung in towards Mario Sonnleitner, the ex Graz man rose highest and directed an excellent header away from keeper Gratzei and into the corner of the net. The lead proved to be short lived though, as ex Rapid man Burgstaller swivelled to score from close range in the 5th minute following good work from Sturm to keep a corner kick alive.  Rapid responded well to the set back though and managed to wrestle back the initiative, again looking the more likely to add to the early scoring. As the half wore on however, chances were at a premium as the bulk of the action took place in the middle third of the field, posing little threat to either Hedl or Gratzei in the respective goals. Graz were looking to play in the powerful Kienast with a farily direct approach, while Rapid looked to Saurer and Kavlak for inspiration in the wide areas. Neither tactic really bore fruit and the teams went into the half time break with no further additions to scoreline. The Green Whites came out in the second half the hungrier of the teams, their Styrian opponents struggling to find the football so prevelant in recent weeks. The Hütteldorfers positive play was rewarded in the 60th minute as Gartler finished an excellent Katzer cross with a thumping drive into the roof of the net from close range. It was the forwards first league goal of the campaign and a boost at just the right time for Rapid.Pacult introduced Trimmel for Kavlak with just under 20 minutes to play, and the new boy's first action was a driving run straight at the heart of the Graz defence. The winger was crudely upended by Szabics, who received a yellow card for his efforts. The Green Whites lofty opposition could barely muster a threat in the second half in a lacklustre display that will have bemused coach Franco Foda. They were put out of their misery in the 83rd minute by Rene Gartler, the Rapid man was on hand to turn home a Trimmel cross and bag his second of a decent afternoon's work. The goal effectively ended the game as a contest and put the suffering Styrians out of their misery. The game represented a much needed boost for the Hütteldorfers and three points to arrest the recent slide. Wednesday see´s visit of regional minnows TSV Hartberg in the cup and provides an excellent opportunity to build momentum before travelling to Mattersburg for the next Bundesliga fixture. Bundesliga, 14th round: SK Rapid - SK Sturm 3:1 (1:1)Hanappi-Stadion, 17.000, Referee Gangl Goals: 1:0 (3.) Sonnleitner, 1:1 (5.) Schildenfeld, 2:1 (60.) Gartler, 3:1 (83.) Gartler SK Rapid: Hedl - Kayhan, Sonnleitner, Soma, Katzer - Kavlak (72./Trimmel), Heikkinen, Pehlivan, Saurer - Gartler (90./Nuhiu), Salihi SK Sturm: Gratzei - Standfest, Schildenfeld, Burgstaller, Perthel - Hölzl (86./Mevoungou), Kienzl, Weber (69./Haas), Klem (52./Kainz) - Szabics, Kienast Yellow Cards: Perthel, Szabic (gw)
31.08.2015