In a strangely sparsely populated Horr Stadium our side locked horns with familiar foes Austria Vienna with a much-changed line up. Helge Payer was back in the side, protected by a back four of Sonnleitner, Soma, Katzer and Schimpelsberger. The midfield quartet consisted of Drazan, Prager, Pichler and Trimmel, while up front Burgstaller was the lone striker with skipper Steffen Hofmann in the hole behind him.Those awaiting an onslaught from the hosts following their good showing in midweek European action would have been disappointed: Rapid began the game on the front foot, pushing the Violet’s back and forcing the first corner after only three minutes. Austria responded with a swift counter that ended with a Jun header just clearing Payer’s crossbar. The early signs were that a good, open contest was store for Vienna’s football faithful. The game carried on in much the same way until a heart in mouth moment for Payer. The Rapid custodian got his angles wrong in the 18th minute and handled the ball outside the area. With the crowd baying for a red card, Payer was relieved to see only a yellow brandished. The feeling of relief was compounded when the resulting free kick from a dangerous position failed to yield the opening goal. Meanwhile the Rapid left flank was proving to be the best avenue of attack for Schöttel’s men, with Prager playing an instrumental role in early proceedings. The attack minded Green-Whites managed to register an impressive 6 corners in the opening 25 minutes of the game. The good work was undone though in the 37th minute as Austria took the lead from a set piece. After doing well to claw away a Jun effort for a corner, Payer could do little this time as his punch through a crowd of players fell again to Tomas Jun about 15 meters from goal. The Austria man kept his shot on target and Payer could only palm the ball into the roof of the net as the Violets celebrated in front of the rows of empty multi-coloured seats. Just as it looked like Rapid would go into the break one goal adrift, Guido Burgstaller popped up right on the stroke of half time to level matters for the Green-Whites. Good build up play saw the ball come to Hofmann in the final third the Rapid captain drew his marker into him before releasing a perfectly weighted pass to Burgstaller who, all alone, sweetly swept the ball home with a first time left footed effort to level the proceedings. A great waft of fog emanating form the home supporters stand settled on the pitch and ensured the second half kick off was delayed by a good 5 minutes. As the smoke cleared it was Rapid who saw the clearest, firing of an early warning shot in the shape of a Pichler long range effort. With Rapid looking the more likely side on the counter, it was the hosts who nearly snatched the lead back in the 76th minute. Barazite beat Sonnleitner and squared to Linz whose goal bound prod looked destined for the net until a last gasp Markus Katzer intervention cleared the ball off the line – via the post – and away to safety. Salihi and Prokopic came on for the closing stages, replacing Burgstaller and Drazan respectively. Although Austria were enjoying greater possession and territorial advantage, Rapid still looked more than capable of grabbing the three points on the counter attack. Over zealous referee Schörgenhofer turned down strong Rapid appeals for a penalty for what looked a good case for handball in the hosts’ penalty area. It was the last moment of danger for either side and the game ended an entertaining 1:1 draw.tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, 12th round: FK Austria - SK Rapid 1:1 (1:1)Generali Arena, 12.000, Referee Schörgenhofer Goals: 1:0 (36.) Jun, 1:1 (45.) Burgstaller FK Austria: P. Grünwald - Klein, Margreitter, Ortlechner, Suttner - Mader, A. Grünwald (72. Liendl) - Gorgon (61. Linz), Jun (93. Stankovic), Junuzovic - Barazite SK Rapid: Payer - Schimpelsberger, Sonnleitner, Soma, Katzer - Prager, Pichler - Trimmel, Hofmann (90. Thonhofer), Drazan (81. Prokopic) - G. Burgstaller (79. Salihi) Yellow Cards: Payer, Schimpelsberger(gw)
02.11.2011