Zoran Barisic once again opted for a 4-3-3 starting formation with Heikkinen, Alar and Boskovic the midfield trio Burgstaller, Sabitzer and Grozurek comprising the forward line. In the third minute the aforementioned Deni Alar played a superbly cultured chipped ball through to Marcel Sabitzer, and with the Sturm defenders trailing in his wake he steadied himself and beat Graz keeper Focher with ease - 1:0 (3.) and a perfect start. The home side then mustered a penetrating attack of their own to ensure the early Rapid celebrations would be short lived: after winning the ball back cheaply in the middle of the park, Kainz played himself into the penalty area with a neat one-two, Christopher Trimmel did well to get a toe on the ball just as the Sturm man was going to shoot, but the ball trickled to Andreas Hölzl who rolled it into an empty net from a matter of yards - 1:1 (12.). It was clear that plenty was on the line as both teams gave everything in this high intensity Europa League shoot out. Slowly the Viennese managed to impose themselves on the opposition, gaining the upper hand through what was a highly competitive first half. When Sturm did manage to get into the Rapid final third, they seldom looked like seriously testing Jan Novota and were relying on set pieces to get within a sight of goal. The closest either side came to breaking the deadlock was a sublime Guido Burgstaller strike from outside the penalty area. In one movement the Rapid left forward controlled the ball, turned and unleashed a stinging drive that was too much for Focher, but unfortunately for the Hütteldorfers crashed into the crossbar and away to safety (32.). The second half took a while to get into a rhythm: the intensity and desire from the first half was still there, but the game was littered with poor control and misplaced passes. It was the home team who managed to put together the first proper passage of play in the second period and the first chance subsequently followed: Sukuta-Pasu curled a presentable opportunity wide of the far post having received a lay off from a team mate on the edge of the Rapid penalty area. A Deni Alar cross-come-shot almost lead to a second for Rapid, but went for a corner that would ultimately pay handsome dividends. A deep ball in was headed back across goal where Christopher Trimmel stretched to keep the ball in play, managed to turn it back into the six yard box to and found Mario Sonnleitner on hand to head home from close range and give Rapid the lead - 2:1 (66.). Celebration turned to horror for Sonnleitner just seconds later though, as he bundled over his man in the penalty area. Referee Schörgenhofer awarded a spot kick, Sukuta-Pasu stepped up, hit his effort low to Novota's right but the Rapid keeper read his intentions and dived on to the ball - even managing to gather it in so as to not offer a chance on the rebound! Sensational goalkeeping and a relieved Sonnleitner! The penalty miss seemed to take the wind out of Graz sails: the home team looked deflated and were not really in the match anymore as a competitive attacking force. In the closing stages Sturm committed more and more men into the forlorn search for an equalizer, and the space at the back was expertly taken advantage of by Dominik Starkl: the young Rapid Amateurs product danced through a tired looking home defence and finished with aplomb, curling the ball high into the roof of the net to kill off Sturm and send the travelling Viennese masses into raptures. The crucial win gives Barisic and his side breathing space and a big boost in the race for third and European football for next season. A superb away day victory!tipp3-Bundesliga, 32nd round:Sturm Graz - SK Rapid 1:3 (1:1)UPC-Arena, 14.200 Attendance, Referee SchörgenhoferGoals: 0:1 Sabitzer (7.), 1:1 Hölzl (12.), 1:2 Sonnleitner (66.), 1:3 Starkl (92.)SK Sturm: Focher - Ehrenreich, Madl, Vujadinovic, Klem - Hölzl (80./Okotie), M. Weber (67./T. Kainz), Koch, F. Kainz (53./C. Kröpfl) - Sukuta-Pasu, SzabicsSK Rapid: Novota - Trimmel, Sonnleitner, Pichler, Katzer - Heikkinen, Alar (84./Starkl), Boskovic (73./Kulovits) - Burgstaller, Sabitzer (76./Wydra), GrozurekYellow Cards: F. Kainz, Hölzl, Weber, Ehrenreich Boskovic, Burgstaller, Pichler, Novota, Sabitzer, Grozurek (gw)
08.05.2013