This season's surprise package Wolfsberger AC were the visitors in Vienna on Saturday, and they were coming up against a Rapid side determined to build on the thumping midweek win in Wiener Neustadt. A strong 15,200 crowd was in attendance in the Ernst-Happel-Stadium, and all would have been encouraged at the strong start made by Zoran Barisic's charges: after just five minutes Stefan Schwab got on the end of a Philipp Schobesberger cross but the ball went just wide of the upright. Schobesberger would have been particularly keen to catch his coaches eye, coming into the starting eleven in the spot vacated by the suspended Louis Schaub. Having looking to play provider, the young speed merchant then got off a shot of his own after latching onto a searching pass from Steffen Hofmann, but his attempted lob was deflected over the crossbar (12.). Beric rounds off stunning Rapid move...With Didi Kühbauer's side offering little in the way of attacking threat, Rapid continued to probe the Carinthians and were rewarded for their patient play not long before half time. A perfectly weighted chipped pass to the back post from Thomas Schrammel found Florian Kainz, who deftly played the ball on the volley across the Wolfsberg six yard box for the unmarked Robert Beric to tap into an empty net - 1:0 and a goal of real class to break the deadlock (38.)!  …and then adds a secondHaving caught Wiener Neustadt cold at the start of the second half on Wednesday night, Rapid did the same again against Wolfsberg: a poor clearance from WAC keeper Kofler was diverted by Steffen Hofmann into Beric, who drove towards goal whilst holding off a marker before firing off a pin point shot across Kofler and into the far corner from the right hand side of the box - 2:0 (48.)! With Hofmann and Schwab now bossing the game against a crumbling Wolfsberg midfield the chances continued to materialise, as did the flowing football from the Viennese. The Rapid skipper picked out the increasingly influential Kainz on the left hand side of the penalty area, who danced inside his marker before unleashing a stinging drive that went just inches wide of Kofler's far post via a deflection (54.). The Summer recruit from Graz was not to be denied his goal though, and after opposite winger Philipp Schobesberger powered into the box, Kainz was on hand to divert his cut back into the net with a cheeky back heel that completely out-foxed the WAC defence - 3:0 (61.) and another genuine touch of class from the Green & Whites! The goal was no less than Kainz deserved after putting in an impressive shift, showing the Rapid faithful just what he is capable of.Rapid close the match out with an exceptional brand of footballThe attractive football continued from Rapid, as more and more confidence visibly flowed through this young sides veins. It was an experienced head anchoring the show though, and captain Steffen Hofmann went close to adding a fourth, but his shot crept wide (77.). The final whistle confirmed a result that had never been in doubt since the 61st minute and Rapid were left to celebrate a third victory on the trot with their supporters who had been served up a real treat on home soil.  Trainer Zoran Barisic: "We took a while to get going at the start. But then we got more into it and started to win the second balls. The team is fine, its got quality. The verdict on the first quarter of the season is that we started slowly, dropping too many points. But I'm happy with the development, despite the fact that there is still room for improvement."tipico Bundesliga, Match Day 9:SK Rapid - WAC 3:0 (1:0)Ernst-Happel-Stadium, 15.200 Attendance, Ref MuckenhammerGoals: 1:0 Beric (37.), 2:0 Beric (48.), 3:0 Kainz (61.)SK Rapid: Novota - Schrammel, Sonnleitner, Dibon, Stangl - Wydra (81./Grahovac), Schwab - Schobesberger (73./Greek), S. Hofmann, F. Kainz - Beric (87./Proscenium)WAC: Kofler - Standee, Absoluter, Runic, Paola - M. Weber, Brightener - Kerr, Silvio (86./Putsch), Jacobo (78./Bald) - Trina (61./P. Zulu)Yellow Cards: Schrammel Brightener, Silvio, Runic(gw)
24.09.2014