The Hütteldorfers went into the clash with old foes Austria with an unfamiliar looking midfield line up: Ildiz and Prager were asked to take on defensive responsibilities, whilst further forward the trio of Grozurek, Burgstaller and youngster Louis Schaub were charged with the task of creating the openings for lone forward Deni Alar. Unfortunately, and particularly in the first half, most of the chances went the way of the Violets. The opening stages of the game proved to be especially rocky for the patched up Rapid outfit. Alarm bells were ringing in the Green & White back line as Hosiner spurned a great headed chance for Austria after just two minutes of play. Lukas Königshofer was called into action just two minutes later, turning another header round the post and out for a corner. Jun tried his luck from distance in the 17th minute, while just five minutes later a Hosiner effort again came close as Austria laid siege to the Rapid penalty area. The creaking backline finally succumbed to the pressure in the 29th minute: another effort from Hosiner was pushed away by Königshofer the ball fell to Markus Katzer who instead of clearing his lines inexplicably scuffed the ball against his own goal post and back into the danger zone. The lurking Gorgon gratefully snapped up the gift, beating Königshofer with a low shot from ten yards. Just a minute later the arrears were almost doubled but this time Lukas Königshofer wasn't to be beaten as he punched a good effort from Jun away to safety. Rapid had to wait until the 44th minute for a sight at goal, but Christopher Trimmel's smart effort wasn't enough to beat Austria keeper Lindner. Peter Schöttel had to attempt to address the balance of play and to this end he introduced Boyd and Drazan at the expense of Grozurek and Schaub at half time. Unfortunately the fresh legs did little to alter the pattern of the game. Jun failed to capitalize on indecision in the Rapid backline straight after the restart, while Hosiner again found space in the penalty area, but again failed to make it count as he fired over in the 49th minute. The Generali Arena wasn't forced to wait too much longer for a second though, the two goal cushion eventually arriving in the 53rd minute. Again defensive frailties were shown as Gorgon bagged his second of the afternoon, stealing in to head home a corner from all of two yards, right under the static Königshofer's nose. In truth, the Hütteldorfers never really looked like turning the game around, and a difficult task was made all the harder in the 73rd minute as they were reduced to 10 after Prager received a second yellow for a lunging tackle. Terrance Boyd had an opportunity to reduce the arrears in the 78th minute, but his shot was high and wide. It remained two-nil until the final whistle and it was impossible to deny that rivals Austria had deserved the three points. Bayer Leverkusen now lie in wait and Rapid must do all they can to clear their heads ahead of what will be an exceptionally tough encounter.tipp3-Bundesliga powered by T-Mobile, 12th round:FK Austria - SK Rapid 2:0 (1:0)Generali Arena, 12.500 Attendance, Referee LechnerGoals: 1:0 Gorgon (29.), 2:0 Gorgon (52.)Austria: Lindner - Koch, Rogulj, Ortlechner, Suttner - Holland - Gorgon, Simkovic (90./Spiridonovic), Mader, Jun (82./A. Grünwald) - Hosiner (86./Kienast)SK Rapid: Königshofer - Trimmel, Sonnleitner, Gerson, Katzer - Prager, Ildiz - Schaub (46./Drazan), Burgstaller, Grozurek (46./Boyd) - Alar (76./Kulovits)Yellow Cards: Holland, Hosiner Trimmel, Prager, Boyd, Burgstaller, IldizY/R. Card: Prager (74.):(gw)
29.10.2012