An impressive choreography from the Wacker fans awaited both sets of players in Tivoli on Saturday as the Tirolean club continue to celebrate their hundred year jubilee. However, about three minutes into the match the celebratory mood was long gone. Mario Sonnleitner played a long ball from front to back for Steffen Hofmann who had got in behind the Innsbruck back four. A magical first touch saw the Rapid skipper bring the ball down in one movement and drive into the Wacker penalty area, where he was upended by a clumsy challenge by last man Jao – penalty for Rapid and a red card for Jao. Boyd stepped up and hit the penalty at a good height for home keeper Safar who dived to his left to save the effort (3.). That would be as good as the afternoon got for the home fans fans though, and just minutes later Louis Schaub again tested Safar with a decent shot (8.) on what would be a busy day for the ex-Austria Vienna goalie.Sonnleitner heads Rapid into deserved leadRapid were dominating possession and getting a lot of joy down the wings, their crisp passing football kept probing away but in the early stages it was the final ball that was missing. Steffen Hofmann was the next to try his luck, shooting narrowly over following a corner (18.). Plenty of shots were coming in from distance as the Green & Whites endeavoured to not let up the pressure on an already stretched Innsbruck defence. Thanos Petsos was one of those who tested Safar from distance (24.), before Schaub was also denied just a minute later (25.). Shortly after Wacker managed their solitary goal attempt of the first half as Jan Novota comfortably gathered a Kuen long shot (27.).Finally the goal that the Hütteldorfers had been threatening arrived: Steffen Hofmann floated a free kick into the Wacker 18 yard box, the home defence simply melted away leaving Mario Sonnleitner in acres of space to bury a powerful unchallenged header low into the right hand side of the goal - 1:0 (32.). It was no more the Rapid's dominant performance had merited. Sabitzer had the chance to double Rapid's advantage just a couple of minutes later when he broke through one on one with Safar, but again the Innsbruck keeper kept his side in the match (34.). There were no further additions to the scoreline and the first half drew to a close with a convincing Rapid leading 1:0.Dream goals seal the victoryIt took Zoran Barisic's side a few minutes after the break to find their rhythm, but once they did a second goal was quick to follow: Schaub set Schrammel off in motion down the left flank, who in turn fizzed a ball into the box where Innsbruck defender Abraham attempted to clear but succeeded only in playing the ball off the lurking Terrence Boyd's chest and into the goal - 2:0 and it was very hard to see a way back for Wacker (55.).To their credit the hosts didn't let their heads drop though and attempted to mount a response. Most of their attacks fizzled out in the final third but one yielded their best chance of the half: a slick passing move led to a presentable opportunity for Vuleta who, to the despair of the Innsbruck fans, fired well over the crossbar (75.). Just three minutes later Thanos Petsos showed his opponents how it should be done with a searing free kick from 25 meters that expertly found the top left corner giving Safar no chance - 3:0 and a magic moment for Petsos. The game was all but done but Guido Burgstaller, introduced as a second half sub, arguably out did Petsos with a brilliant fourth goal: on receiving the ball in the penalty area Burgstaller turned inside Piesinger leaving him on the floor, then carried on and turned outside Hinterseer, beating him all ends up with a cute dummy. Safar had also bought the dummy from Burgstaller who was then left with the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net - 4:0 and a real wonder strike to round off a fantastic afternoon for Green & white (88.).It was a superb victory for Rapid and will certainly set them up for Thursday's clash with FC Thun perfectly. A win against the Swiss in the opening encounter of the Europa League group could prove crucial in setting up Rapid in a group that looks highly competitive and too close to call.tipp3-Bundesliga, Match Day 8:Wacker Innsbruck - SK Rapid 0:4 (0:1)Innsbruck, Tivoli Stadion, 10.642 Attendance, Ref HarkamGoals: 0:1 Sonnleitner (32.), 0:2 Boyd (55.), 0:3 Petsos (80.), 0:4 Burgstaller (88.)Wacker Innsbruck: Safar - Bergmann, Vucur, Jaio, Hauser - Kofler, Piesinger - Schütz (62./Jevtic), Hinterseer, Kuen (69./Vuleta) - Wallner (46./Abraham)SK Rapid: Novota - Trimmel, Sonnleitner, Pichler, Schrammel - Petsos, Boskovic (67./Behrendt) - Sabitzer, Hofmann (70./Burgstaller), Schaub - Boyd (83./Grozurek)Yellow Cards: Schütz, Wallner, Kofler bzw. Schrammel, BoskovicRed Card: Jaio (2./Denying clear goal scoring opportunity)(gw)
22.09.2013