The Green & Whites may have gone into the game against Sturm Graz without the injured trio of Alar, Wydra and Max Hofmann, but they certainly weren't short of confidence having picked up maximum points from the previous three games. Last time out Sturm demolished Grödig 6:0 in Salzburg, so Rapid needed to be wary of the resurgent Styrians. However there was little sign of that level of attacking potency on this occasions, and it was the Hütteldorfers who made the early inroads.Lightening startSturm registered the first effort on goal through Kainz (5.), but just minutes later Steffen Hofmann showed him how it should be done as he had Christian Gratzei picking the ball out of the net. The Rapid skipper managed to clear the wall from just outside the area with a delicate free kick that beat the Graz keeper low at the foot of his right hand post - 1:0 (7.)! The Hanappi crowd barely had time to retake their seats after celebrating before Rapid added a second: Hofmann was again involved, swinging a free kick deep into the Graz box that was met by Mario Sonnleitner, who steered his header into the back of the net - 2:0 (9.) and Rapid well on the way to another three points!With their tails firmly up, Rapid set about Graz with a determination not to give their shaken opponents a sniff of recovery. With an all action display spearheaded by pressing from the forwards high up the pitch, Rapid never gave Sturm a chance to settle on the ball, and consequently the Styrian side never managed to get a foothold in the half. Guido Burgstaller could've wrapped things up early, back didn't manage to convert a decent chance after being set up by Marcel Sabitzer (23.). For the remainder of the half Jan Novota remained largely a spectator.Searching for a thirdWith Sturm well and truly deflated the second half continued in a fashion very similar to the first: Rapid's pressing game was proving too much for the visitors, while the Green & Whites maintained a menace going forwards that suggested a third goal could be in the offing. Petsos (52.) and Burgstaller (57.) both tried their luck from range, drawing decent saves from the shaky Gratzei. Then against the run of play Graz almost sneaked back into the game: Beric came in from the wing to get on the end of a Djuricin cross, his effort from close range coming back off the bar after an excellent finger tip save from Novota (59.). A goal for Darko Milanic's side could have changed the feel and momentum of the game, but Beric's effort would be as close as they would come, with Rapid seeing out the game in a thoroughly professional manner that will have delighted Zoran Barisic.Next week Rapid make the short trip across the city to Favoriten for the Vienna derby. A Green & White side brimming with confidence following four straight victories will know that a similar performance to today could yield very handsome returns indeed.Trainer Zoran Barisic: "We started well. The first 30 minutes were really quite decent. We knew our opponents would have to come at us in the second half and that there would be space for us to exploit. Unfortunately we didn't use it well enough. Important for me was that today the team and the fans were one unit. Four clean sheets on the trot is great, but there were still phases in the game where we forgot to play football."tipp3-Bundesliga, Match Day 30:SK Rapid - Sturm Graz 2:0 (2:0)Gerhard Hanappi-Stadium, 15.700 Attendance, Ref DrachtaGoals: 1:0 Hofmann (7.), 2:0 Sonnleitner (9.)SK Rapid: Novota - Trimmel, Sonnleitner, Dibon, Schrammel - Petsos (87./Boskovic), Behrendt - Burgstaller, S. Hofmann, Sabitzer (57./Starkl) - Boyd (91./Schaub)Sturm Graz: Gratzei - Todorovski, Madl, Vujadinovic, Hölzl - Schloffer (60./Wolf), Hadzic, Offenbacher (74./Schmerböck), F. Kainz (59./Beichler) - Djuricin, BericYellow Cards: Behrendt, Petsos, Boyd Hölzl, Djuricin, Beichler, Madl(gw)
29.03.2014