In Mödling recently there have been signs of a revival. Since being docked points Admira have been on the march, apparently galvanised by the off the field drama's surrounding the club. The South City side's recent performances have certainly belied their position in the league and no-one in Green & White was expecting a walk in the park during Saturday's clash at the Hanappi. Zoran Barisic warned his troops before the game as to the attacking potential within the Admira squad and as if to prove his point they went at Rapid from the off and were soon celebrating taking an early lead: a sloppy back heel from Brian Behrendt found its way to Auer who crossed to the unmarked Schicker who in turn sent an unstoppable header into the top corner, heading the ball back across Jan Novota - 0:1 (12.).Rapid turn the game around before half timeThe goal represented a shock for the Hütteldorfers, but as so often in the past weeks they didn't lose their concentration and instead set about looking to get back on terms, probing away at the Admira defence. Following a good spell of pressure a delightful equaliser soon followed: a sharp one-two between Hofmann and Boyd played the Rapid skipper into space in the box parallel to the 'D', and Hofmann produced an ice cool finish low into the near post before sprinting off to celebrate with a jubilant Block West - 1:1 (23.)! Now with their tails up Rapid continued to apply pressure on the visitors back line with the sense that a second goal was in the offing. Youngster Dominik Starkl's impressive recent efforts earned him a starting role and it was the youngster's endeavours that lead to Rapid's second. Having received the ball outside the left hand side of the penalty area, Starkl drove into the box before having his shirt clearly tugged by Auer. Penalty Rapid. Steffen Hofmann stepped up to take the kick, and dispatched the ball calmly to give the Green & Whites a deserved lead - 2:1 and comeback complete.Double setback....Both teams emerged unchanged from the dressing room, but within a few second half minutes the complexion of the game had completely changed. Firstly Christopher Dibon was handed a straight red card after harshly being adjudged to have denied a clear goal scoring opportunity. Dibon's tackle on Weber was cedertainly mistimed, but with covering defenders around him the red card looked harsh in the extreme. To make matters worse, Admira capitalised on the confusion in the Rapid  back line to plunder a second: Schick sent a cross over into the penalty area, where it was met by Schicker who powered a header off the underside of the crossbar and into the net from a central position - 2:2 (49.).....but Rapid find the right answersA re-organised Rapid needed to remain concentrated, work hard and keep shutting down space to keep the numerically superior Admira at bay. It worked. The defence, superbly marshalled by Mario Sonnleitner, gave up very few chances to the visitors and provided a solid platform from which the Hütteldorfers could begin to build forward momentum. Starkl looked like he might have stolen the lead for Rapid, but his effort from a corner was cleared off the line and away to safety (63.). But shortly afterwards Rapid's efforts were richly rewarded: the impressive Sonnleitner broke up an Admira attack and threaded the ball forwards to Trimmel, who burst forwards eating up the yards and making towards the Admira penalty area. He shrugged off a challenge and headed on to the by-line, where he cut a perfectly weighted low ball back to the newly introduced substitute Guido Burgstaller, who made no mistake, slotting home from close range to put Rapid ahead - 3:2 (68.)!The goal gave the whole stadium as well as the team the injection of energy they needed to get the job done. The Green & Whites took over control of the game, Branko Boskovic rolling back the years and controlling the tempo of the match from his midfield anchor role. The Montenegro international nearly added a decisive third, but keeper Kuttin was equal to the Rapid man's free kick in the 84th minute. He was powerless to stop Boskovic a few minutes later though, when he slammed home with authority from close range, having been set up by Guido Burgstaller following good build up play down the right flank - 4:2 and game over for Admira (90.)! Another three points in the bag for Rapid who have now built up a head of steam ahead of Thursday's crucial Europa League showdown with Belgium's form team KRC Genk. Three points against the group's pacesetters would throw Group G wide open: could Thursday be another glory night in Green & White?tipp3-Bundesliga, 14th round:SK Rapid - Admira Wacker 4:2 (2:1)Gerhard Hanappi-Stadion, 12.700 Attendance, Ref EisnerGoals: 0:1 R. Schicker (12.), 1:1 Hofmann (23.),  2:1 Hofmann (35./Elfmeter), 2:2 R. Schicker (49.), 3:2 Burgstaller (68.), 4:2 Boskovic (90.)SK Rapid: Novota - Trimmel, Sonnleitner, Dibon, Schrammel - Behrendt, Boskovic - S. Hofmann (83. Wydra), Schaub (69. Petsos), Starkl - Boyd (55. Burgstaller)Admira: Kuttin - T. Weber (84. Domoraud), Ebner, Schösswendter, Auer - Toth - Schick, Thürauer (75. Rivera), Schwab, Sax - R. Schicker (64. Ouedraogo)Yellow Cards: Schaub Auer, Ouedraogo, SchickRed Card: Dibon (47.) (gw)
04.11.2013