With Thursday night's do or die game in Kiev in mind, Zoran Barisic again made the most of his squad: Steffen Hofmann, Branko Boskovic and Terrence Boyd dropped to the bench, while 20 year old Mario Pavelic came in at right back for only his second appearance in green and white as he replaced the suspended Christopher Trimmel. Conditions were tough in Wolfsberg, with the pitch rock hard and with an icy wind rolling off the mountains onto the exposed stadium.Forgettable first halfUnsurprisingly given the conditions, a somewhat tepid game unfolded with the hosts just shading proceedings. Kerhe tried his luck for the hosts with a couple of long rangers (10.,16.) but to no avail. Wolfsberg were the more adventurous side and managed to get a series of crosses and balls into the box, but Jan Novota dealt comfortably with what the hosts had to offer. An off-target free kick from Thanos Petsos (22.) was the best the Green & Whites could muster by way of a response. Neither side managed to create a clear opening in a largely forgettable first half that ended with the deadlock still in tact.Clinical from BurgstallerDominik Wydra replaced Louis Schaub in Rapid's only half time change, and slowly the Hütteldorfers began to feel their way into the match. Following a decent few minutes of possession for Rapid after the re-start they manufactured their first clear sight of goal which was ruthlessly capitalised upon: a free kick into the box from Petsos was only half cleared by the Wolfsberg defence, and the resulting loose ball just outside the box was won through great determination by substitute Wydra, who flicked the ball onto the centrally positioned Guido Burgstaller. In one motion Burgstaller rifled a clever shot with the outside of his boot into the roof of the net, beating the home keeper for pace - 0:1 (51.)! The goal seemed to give Rapid a boost in confidence, and with the first half so sparse on chances you had the feeling that one goal might be enough to take all three points. That theory was to be proved incorrect however just ten minutes later when a harmless looking throw on in an advanced position on the right flank found its way to Topcagic, who cleverly knocked the bouncing ball over an ineffective challenge from Christopher Dibon before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area - 1:1 and no chance for Novota (61.).No chance for NovotaThe few promising sparks Rapid had shown at the beginning of the half then began to fade and Wolfsberg looked the most likely side to grab a winner. Mario Sonnleitner was harshly penalised for a foul on the edge of his own penalty area in the 73rd minute, and this decision would unfortunately prove crucial: from the resulting free kick Wolfsberg captain Liendl bent a superb effort round the wall and into the top left hand corner of the goal via the post - 2:1 and Novota again merely a spectator (73.). Rapid failed to deliver a meaningful response half chances and snap shots from Burgstaller and substitute Boyd never looked like producing an equaliser and the Green & Whites win-less streak against their bogey side unfortunately continues. Attention now turns to Thursday's match against Dynamo in Kiev, where the fate of both teams in group G will be decided. A herculean effort is required from Rapid and rest assured that a different Green & White eleven will be in town on Thursday to the one that turned up in Wolfsberg!tipp3-Bundesliga, Match Day 19:WAC - SK Rapid 2:1 (0:0)Wolfsberg, Lavanttal-Arena, 4.300 Attendance, Ref EisnerGoals: 0:1 (51.) Burgstaller, 1:1 (61.) Topcagic, 2:1 (74.) LiendlWAC: Dobnik - Standfest, Hüttenbrenner, Rnic, Baldauf - Putsche - Kerhe, De Paula, Liendl, Gotal (93./Suppan) - Topcagic (89./Falk)SK Rapid: Novota - Pavelic, Sonnleitner, Dibon, Schrammel - Behrendt, Petsos (82./Boyd) - Sabitzer, Schaub (46./Wydra), Burgstaller (83./Grozurek) - StarklYellow Card: Baldauf(gw)
08.12.2013