The team that lined up against Ried on Sunday was largely different to the one that went down to narrow defeat against Rosenborg: Harry Pichler came into the centre of defense in place of Gerson, Katzer switched to the right side with Schrammel coming in at left back. Kulovits and Prager were employed as the defensive shield in midfield, while Deni Alar was in the lone striker role up front. Christopher Trimmel would be looking to provide the ammunition for Alar from the right flank. The start of the game was very open, both sides having their chances. After the first 11 minutes the score could easily have been 1:1. In the first minute Hofmann fired narrowly over from inside the Ried box, while Hadzic could have put the hosts ahead just one minute later. In the 7th minute Meilinger could have done better with his volleyed effort after being well positioned, while Mario Sonnleitner tested keeper Gebauer from long range 10 minutes later. Arguably the best chance of the hectic opening phase fell to ex-Rapid man Rene Gartler, but he fluffed his lines from close range against his former employers in the 18th minute. With chances going begging at both ends it seemed only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken, and fortunately when the goal did arrive in was Rapid who grabbed it: Alar found Hofmann, whose cross in turn made its way to Guido Burgstaller who guided a powerful header past Gebauer to hand Rapid a 31st minute lead. Hofmann and Prager had chances to extend the advantage before the interval, but the goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Ried who were showing less menace in the final third. Trimmel makes it safeThe high tempo from the first half tailed off a little at the start of the second period, but both goalkeepers had to be on their toes to keep out efforts from substitutes: Rapid sub Grozurek tested Gebauer in the 48th minute, while Walch kept Königshofer interested in the 57th. The Hütteldorfers could sense that the game killing second was in the offing, and it nearly arrived in the 62nd minute but Burgstaller's low shot went inches wide of the target. Just a minute later Ried fired off a warning when Gartler diverted a cross onto the crossbar, albeit with his elbow. In response Peter Schöttel's team attempted to narrow the pitch and squeeze out the hosts: the first step backwards by Rapid all afternoon. Ried struggled to find an answer as the move resulted in opportunities for the home side almost completely drying up. The chance of a swift Rapid counter loomed large though as Ried were forced to throw more and more bodies forward, and the danger became reality for the home side in the 84th minute: Steffen Hofmann played a delightful pass into the danger zone, it was missed by Burgstaller but not by Christopher Trimmel who slammed the ball home to bag the three points. It was an excellent victory for Rapid on a ground where wins are notoriously hard to come by. It was the perfect response to Thursday nights Euro disappointment and injects some momentum back into the Hütteldorfer's championship challenge. tipp3-Bundesliga, 9th round:SV Ried - SK Rapid 0:2 (0:1)Keine-Sorgen-Arena, 6.100 Att., Referee SchörgenhoferGoals: 0:1 Burgstaller (31.) 0:2 Trimmel (84.)SV Ried: Gebauer - Hinum, Reifeltshammer, Ziegl (82./Riegler), A. Schicker - Hadzic, Reiter - Walch (68./Grössinger), Zulj (76./Nacho), Meilinger - GartlerSK Rapid: Königshofer - Katzer (46./Grozurek), Sonnleitner, Pichler, Schrammel - Prager (71./Ildiz), Kulovits - Trimmel, Hofmann, Burgstaller (86./Heikkinen) - AlarYellow Cards: Ziegl, Reifeltshammer, Reiter Kulovits, Grozurek, Schrammel, Burgstaller (gw)
24.09.2012