It was a strange feeling on Saturday afternoon as Rapid locked horns with newly promoted Admira in the ghost town like Hanappi Stadium. The players from both sides managed to put the situation to one side and got down to business: The Hütteldorfers immediately assumed the role of the aggressor, while Admira were looking to hit their illustrious hosts on the break. Trimmel strikes the woodworkWith thirty minutes on the clock Christopher Trimmel passed up the best opportunity of the game: New boy Deni Alar, looking to impress on his competitive debut, went on a mazy solo run before laying a perfectly weighted pass off to the on coming Trimmel whose shot cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety. Alar came close to breaking the deadlock himself five minutes before the interval but his crisp effort narrowly missed the far corner. Positive start to the second half Peter Schöttel rang out a message at the start of the second when he sent his troops out into the empty stadium five minutes before the restart. The tactic nearly paid dividends as Trimmel got on the end of an Alar cross but couldn’t control his effort whilst well placed just a minute into proceedings. Ten minutes later Ledezma registered the visitor’s first effort on goal having found space following a corner, while on the hour mark Nuhiu tested Admira keeper Tischler: The Admira custodian ensured parity remained by turning away Nuhiu’s effort with his foot. Inspired change from the benchIn the 66th minute Hamdi Salihi joined the fray, replacing the impressive debutant Alar. In every manager or coaches dream scenario just seconds later the Albanian hitman glanced home a Drazan cross to break the deadlock. The goal forced the visitors out of their shell but Rapid were now taking the game by the scruff of the neck and asserting their authority. The impressive skipper Hofmann, looking back to full fitness, was replaced with 8 minutes left on the clock by reliable fin Markus Heikkinen. Rapid extinguished any lingering Admira hopes of salvaging a point in stoppage time as Nuhiu netted following a smart 1-2 with Salihi. The 2:0 score line did little to flatter Rapid and got Peter Schöttel of to a winning start. With the "ghost match" now out of the way the Green Whites can approach their next fixtures with the feel good factor returning to Hütteldorf. Tipp3-Bundesliga, 1st round:SK Rapid - Admira 2:0 (0:0)Hanappi-Stadion, 150, Referee KrassnitzerGoals: 1:0 Salihi (67.), 2:0 Nuhiu (91.)SK Rapid: Payer - Schimpelsberger, Soma, Pichler, Schrammel - Trimmel, Hofmann (83./Heikkinen), Kulovits, Prokopic (57./Drazan) - Nuhiu, Alar (66./Salihi)Admira: Tischler - Plassnegger, Dibon, Drescher, Schrott - Seebacher (72./Sabitzer), Schachner (77./Toth), Schwab, Jezek - Ledezma (61./Sulimani), OuedraogoYellow Cards: Schwab, Ouedraogo, Plassnegger(gw)
18.07.2011