The players were welcomed to the pitch in the Ernst-Happel-Stadium on Saturday by streaming sunshine and 14,000 Rapid fans hungry for the return of Bundesliga action. Steffen Hofmann failed to fully recover from a stomach complaint and was fit enough only for a place on the bench, with Deni Alar coming in to replace the Rapid skipper. As expected the injured Jan Novota was also absent so Marko Maric came in for his third senior appearance in Green & White. A truly odd first half then got underway even Trainer Zoran Barisic was left to remark "I've never experienced a half of football like it."Two penalties, two goals, two red cardsAfter failing to cope convincingly with an early Dominik Wydra effort (4.), Ried keeper Gebauer was soon back under the spotlight, although he would've wished he wasn't. An incisive chipped pass from Wydra played Robert Beric in on goal, the "Player of the Year 2014" then rounded Gebauer only for the goalie to chop him down as he was readying to pull the trigger. A penalty and red card were the only decisions open to referee Ouschan. Deni Alar stepped up and slotted the ball in the right hand corner, sending replacement keeper Höbarth the wrong way in the process - 1:0 (17.)! Rapid then twice hit the woodwork as firstly Thanos Petsos tested Höbarth with a free kick, which the keeper did well to parry onto the cross bar (24.), before Alar did the same from the other side of the box, Höbarth again tipping onto the crossbar (36.). Shortly afterwards the next penalty area incident arrived: a deep cross from the left was kept alive by Kainz on the right hand side of the six yard box as he chipped the ball back into the middle to Robert Beric, who guided the ball goal wards only to be denied by Ried defender Trauner's hand on the line. Again the referee was left with no choice but to award the penalty and dismiss Trauner. With the visitors now reduced to nine, Alar again stepped up and coolly slotted the ball down the middle of the goal to double the Hütteldorfers' advantage - 2:0 (39.)!Blatant foul hands Rapid a third penaltyDespite the game being on the stroke of half time, there was still an opportunity for Oliver Glasner's side to further shoot themselves in the foot: a searching cross was played in towards Robert Beric in the box, the Slovenian striker only failed to make contact due to a blatant pull by defender Filipovic. The referee instantly pointed to the spot and would have been justified in brandishing another red card, but opted for leniency this time, with Filipovic escaping with a yellow. Robert Beric took the kick himself and again Höbarth was soundly beaten, as Beric arrowed the ball into the left corner - 3:0 (45.)! This was a half of football that won't be quickly forgotten!Woodwork struck for a third timeWith the three points already in the bag the Green & Whites somewhat understandably took their foot off the gas in the second period. The nine men of Ried defended deep in their own half, and to their credit, defended resolutely. A Beric header that flashed past the near post was as close as Rapid came (62.) until the final minute when substitute Dominik Starkl's quick feet manufactured a shooting opportunity for himself inside the Ried box, but his powerful shot struck the near post and cannoned away from the danger area (89.). The result had been decided long before though, and a curios game ended in a comfortable victory for the Green & Whites.Trainer Zoran Barisic: "The first half was strange. I've never experienced anything like it in my career. Unfortunately we didn't capitalise on the situation and failed to make the most of the further chances we created. We regularly had efforts on goal, clear cut chances, but the required efficiency was missing. Ried defended very well though. We've won 3-0 and are happy to have started in this fashion."tipico-Bundesliga, Match Day 20SK Rapid - SV Ried 3:0 (3:0)Ernst-Happel-Stadion, 14.000 Attendance, Ref OuschanGoals: 1:0 Alar (16./Pen), 2:0 Alar (39./Pen), 3:0 Beric (45./Pen)SK Rapid: Maric - Pavelic, Sonnleitner, M. Hofmann, Schrammel - Petsos, Wydra (67./Schwab) - Schaub (82./Starkl), Alar (67./St. Hofmann), F. Kainz - BericSV Ried: Gebauer - Janeczek, Trauner, Filipovic - Lainer, Murg (64./Fröschl), Streker, Kragl - Perstaller (15./Höbarth), Thomalla, Elsneg (46./Pichler)Yellow Cards: M. Hofmann bzw. Trauner, FilipovicRed Cards: Gebauer (14./Denying a clear goal scoring opportunity), Trauner (37./Denying a clear goal scoring opportunity)(gw)
14.02.2015