125 JAHRE SK RAPID
  Tagen
  Std
  Min
  Sek
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31.10.2021
Spielbericht, ADMIRAL Bundesliga, Profis

Late drama against LASK as the Green & Whites grab three points

Off the back of a comfortable win midweek in the cup, SK Rapid returned swiftly to action in the Bundesliga as we welcomed LASK to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening. Our duels against the Upper Austrians have been top games in recent seasons, with both sides pushing high up the table and fighting for European football, however there was a different feeling for this match given that the two teams started the day in the bottom half, knowing that the need to get three points was urgent.

Head Coach Didi Kühbauer opted to start with Pauli Gartler in goal; Filip Stojkovic, Emanuel Aiwu and Maximilian Hofmann at the back; Srdjan Grahovac and Robert Ljubicic shored up the midfield; Kelvin Arase and Max Ullmann were patrolling the wings; as Taxi Fountas and Marco Grüll posed an attacking midfield threat behind front-man Ercan Kara.

It was the guests who came out of the blocks the quickest though, and within the first minute Grgic fired off a warning shot across the face of Gartler’s goal. Stojkovic then had to throw himself acrobatically at the ball to make a clearance when a LASK corner kick bounced dangerously around the box (8’). Gartler was called into action again soon after when Horvath’s low strike was too central to really trouble him (13’), but eventually the away team’s superiority paid off as a close range shot was blocked by the Rapid defence, only for the rebound to fall kindly to Goiginger who slotted in for 1-0 to LASK (17’). It had been coming.

Rapid mustered a response to falling behind, and the game soon opened up at both ends. Hofmann got up highest from a set piece but could only head wide from a promising position, before Karamoko rounded the keeper at the other end, but went too wide to convert (29’). Luckeneder’s header then skimmed the crossbar as the visitors kept up a high intensity opening phase (36’), but five minutes later, the Green & Whites came roaring back. A clever one-two combination released Kara in behind the LASK back line, and he calmly strode forward and smashed the ball into the bottom corner for the equaliser! 1-1 (41’)! Our team suddenly had a boost of confidence, and riding high from the goal, Fountas fired a curling shot from the left of the area which produced a superb diving stop from away keeper Schlager (45’). With that, the teams headed in for half time all-square.

Marco Grüll converted a late free kick brilliantly, and the goal ended up being the winner on the day! © GEPA

Unfortunately Max Hofmann had to be withdrawn before the restart, so Thorsten Schick made his way on for the second half. The exciting and open contest continued early on, with Aiwu getting a vital foot in to deflect Hong’s shot in the area (50’), and Arase firing towards the top corner, only to see Schlager’s outstretched hand parry the ball to safety (52’). Fired up by the crowd behind the goal, Rapid kept pushing on, and Fountas was the next player to have a curling effort from the edge of the box, but this one flew just over the crossbar (55’).

Karamoko caused some concern in the Rapid defence when he dispossessed Aiwu and charged into the area, but the young defender redeemed himself by getting back to clear (57’). Around the hour mark the game’s chances began to dry up for a while, and challenges plus the odd substitution began to affect the rhythm of proceedings. That all changed with some key moments towards the closing stages of the match: firstly, Stojkovic’s challenge on Karamoko resulted in a penalty kick, but once the referee had checked the VAR screen, he too was in agreement with the Rapid players that the challenge was a clean one (70’). No penalty given. Fountas then gave the Green & Whites a brief lead, but the enjoyment lasted for just seconds as he was called back for a narrow offside decision (75’).

That goal may not have counted, but as the Rapid Quarter-Hour got started, the game’s drama was far from over! Schick delivered a beauty of a free kick, and Ercan Kara got up well to win the aerial battle and power a header into the net! 2-1 Rapid (78’)! Another set-piece led to yet another moment of brilliance from Marco Grüll, too, as he smashed in a free kick off the underside of the crossbar to spectacularly double the lead late on! 3-1 (87’). LASK weren’t about to lie down though, and a free kick of their own came back off the bar for Luckeneder to tap in and reduce the deficit: 3-2 (89’).

A nervy six minutes of stoppage time ensued, but the boys in Green & White saw it out easily enough, and starved the visitors of any chances for an unlikely equaliser. At the end of a hectic game, Rapid came away with the victory, and that’s really what counts at this stage of the season, despite the blow of having Robert Ljubicic sent off for a scuffle after the final whistle. Next up it’s a trip to Zagreb on Thursday as UEFA Europa League football comes back around for matchday four. After two wins and six goals in the last week, the team can travel with full confidence. RAPID!

Fotos: GEPA, Red Ring Shots

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label.survey

Wer war Dein Rapidler des Spiels beim 3:2-Heimsieg gegen den LASK?
label.total-votes: 629
Paul Gartler
7%
Filip Stojkovic
6%
Maximilian Hofmann
0%
Emanuel Aiwu
1%
Maximilian Ullmann
1%
Srdjan Grahovac
1%
Robert Ljubicic
1%
Kelvin Arase
0%
Taxiarchis Fountas
1%
Marco Grüll
24%
Ercan Kara
57%
Thierno Ballo
0%
Thorsten Schick
0%
Jonas Auer
0%
Martin Moormann
1%