The opening stages of the 312th Vienna derby saw Rapid clearly in the ascendency. As early as the sixth minute Louis Schaub nearly put the Green & Whites into the lead, gathering in a cross from Flo Kainz before beating Austria keeper Lindner with an arrowed shot, only to be denied by the crossbar. It didn't take though long for Zoran Barisic's troops to convert their domination into a lead on the scoreboard, as Serbest was disposed on the edge of his own box by the fox like Schaub with the ball running invitingly to Steffen Hofmann, who instinctively bent a beautiful strike from the left hand side of the penalty area beyond Lindner and into the far corner to give Rapid a richly deserved lead - 0:1 (17.). The goal was celebrated, unfortunately, by the small handful of Rapid fans permitted to be in attendance. Rapid continued to boss their opponents, and completely silenced the Generali Arena. With the crowd turning on the home team it seemed the stage was set for the Hütteldorfers to press home their advantage against vulnerable opponents. Disappointment on stroke of half timeApart from a miscued cross from Holzhauser that would have drifted under the bar but for a timely intervention from Jan Novota, there had been very little for the restless home fans to get excited about. Then, on the stroke of half time, an equaliser arrived out of the blue: a hopeful long ball was launched into the Rapid box, Sonnleitner inadvertently forced Novota into a stunning reflex save with a miscued header, but the ball fell to Rotpuller to stab home from a couple of yards out - 1:1 (45.). The goal was doubly annoying as Rapid had been threatening to add a second which would have all but killed the game, with powerful efforts from Schrammel and Kainz fully extending Heinz Lindner (44.). Rapid lose rhythm in second halfAustria's equaliser seemed to have a huge effect on the game, as at the start of the second half and despite being unchanged, Rapid struggled for the fluidity that had seen them call the tune during the first period. The Violets came back into the game, with Rapid allowing their opponents more room, and as a consequence the crowd’s interest was revived and the game took on a different complexion. Still, the Green & Whites continued to carry attacking threat: shortly after the restart Petsos went close from long range (48.), whilst Kainz nearly forced the ball home from a tight angle after some excellent footwork to manufacture space for the shot (49.). With the game looking more and more in the balance Austria man Ramsebner picked up a second yellow for a foul on substitute Schobesberger, surely handing the initiative back to Rapid (72.). Just minutes later it was Schobesberger himself who had a golden opportunity to put Rapid ahead, but finding himself in space around the penalty spot after receiving a cut back from the bi-line following more outstanding work from Kainz, he lifted his effort a couple of inches over the cross bar (74.). The Green & Whites were again being profligate in front of goal, and this time they were punished: another free kick was launched into the penalty, Shikov rose highest and guided the ball past Novota from close range - 2:1 (84.). In the dying embers of the game Rapid still had chances to snatch a point, with Alar and Kainz both getting efforts on target. But in the last seconds of the match it looked for all and sundry like Petsos was going to equalise: played into the box the midfield man took the ball in his stride, steadied himself and from the edge of the six yard box hit a thunderous shot above the diving Lindner but the ball crashed into the crossbar (92.). A mighty goal mouth scrambled ensued, but the home side managed to hack the ball to safety and with the chance went Rapid’s hopes of avoiding a painful, and completely unnecessary, defeat.  Trainer Zoran Barisic: "We wanted to play on the opposition’s nervousness and not let them into the game. It worked during the first half and we had them right where we wanted them. But we didn’t add the second. After conceding on the stroke of half time we didn’t get going agan. We talked about avoiding giving away free kicks in our own third. It’s fair to say we didn’t have the rub of the green today." tipico Bundesliga, Match Day 24FK Austria - SK Rapid 2:1 (1:0)Generali Arena, 11.000 Attendance, Ref Drachta Goals: 0:1 (17.) S. Hofmann, 1:1 (45.+4) Rotpuller, 2:1 (84.) Shikov FK Austria: Lindner - Ramsebner, Shikov, Rotpuller, Suttner - Serbest (28./Holzhauser), Holland - De Paula, Grünwald, Meilinger (88./Stronati) - Gorgon (52./Zulechner) SK Rapid: Novota - Pavelic, Sonnleitner, M. Hofmann, Schrammel - Petsos, Schwab (73./Alar) - Schaub (60./Schobesberger), S. Hofmann (67./Wydra), F. Kainz - Beric Yellow Cards: Holland Schwab, Petsos, Pavelic, M. Hofmann Red Card: Ramsebner (72./second yellow)(gw)
09.03.2015