There were certainly a few tears shed before kick off, as Helge Payer, Jürgen Patocka, Ragnvald Soma, Christian Thonhofer and Rene Gartler all bid farewell to the Green & White faithful. Songs and applause rang down from the spectators as they showed their appreciation for the years of top class service the five men have given the club. Whatever the future may hold and regardless of which clubs they may end up at, we want to say thank you guys and wish you all the best. Eventually the final game of the Bundesliga season got underway. Having already secured second place last week, Head Coach Peter Schöttel sprang a surprise with the inclusion in the starting line up of 18 year old Dominik Wydra. The youth graduate was building on his fleeting debut outing against Kapfenberg some weeks previous by marking his full debut on home turf. The youngster got to grips with the game and never shirked a tackle or a 50/50, despite his tender years. Dominik Wydra is certainly a name to look out for next season. Back to current affairs: the guests from Tyrol seemed unaffected by the emotion emanating from the stands and managed to fashion the games first chance after just 2 minutes as a Svenojha header was brilliantly stopped by Lukas Königshofer. The opening exchanges of the game had a certain end of season feel to them in fact the most noteworthy aspect of the first twenty minutes was the relentless blustery wind. The Hütteldorfers had to wait until the 25th minute for the first clear cut chance to come their way, and it eventually arrived in the shape of a Guido Burgstaller effort that never really looked like breaking the deadlock. Wacker goalie Egger looked to have survived with his clean sheet in tact but was beaten before half time: Michael Schimpelsberger floated a delightful cross into the box that found its way to Deni Alar, the in form striker made no mistake with his 37th minute close range finish. Jan Novota replaced Lukas Königshofer in goal for the second period, but it would prove to be a quiet return to first team action for Jan. An Alar header two minutes after the restart nearly doubled Rapid's advantage, while a Hofmann free kick on the hour mark tested visiting keeper Egger again. Just as everyone had settled for the single goal victory, Christopher Drazan teed up Deni Alar in the 89th minute, who ensured the season finished on a high: the strikers crisp volley beat Egger all ends up to hand the Viennese a deserved victory and rounded off the campaign in style. The curtain was lowered on the 2011/2012 season with a win. The end of this season represents the start of the next: we can all sit back and see what happens during the summer months ahead of the 2012/2013 campaign! tipp3-Bundesliga, 36th round: SK Rapid - Wacker Innsbruck 2:0 (1:0)Hanappi-Stadion, 17.100, Referee Dintar Goals: 1:0 Alar (37.) 2:0 Alar (90.) SK Rapid: Königshofer (46./Novota) - Schimpelsberger, Sonnleitner, Pichler, Katzer - Hofmann, Wydra (83./Prager), Kulovits, Grozurek (65./Drazan) - G. Burgstaller, Alar Wacker Innsbruck: Egger - Harding, Kofler, Svejnoha (46./Dakovic), Hauser - Abraham - Schütz (65./Bergmann), Merino (82./Perstaller), Bilgen, Wernitznig - Schreter Yellow Cards: Hofmann Kofler, Harding (gw)
23.05.2012