The ‘Championship Round’ starts with success

Last weekend, head coach Ferdinand Feldhofer's Rapid team secured their place in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga’s ‘Championship Group’ with a 3-0 home win against Austria Klagenfurt. Exactly one week later, the fixture list decided that we would have an immediate “replay” in Carinthia! The home win against the same opposition had given the Green and Whites confidence that they could get off to a winning start in this final phase of the season, and there was good news from off the pitch in the build-up too, as Martin Moormann signed a contract extension, and we announced our new premium partnership with spusu. All that was left to do, was to take that positivity and turn it into three points on Sunday.

In the bright sunshine of Klagenfurt’s Wörthersee Stadium, our team took to the pitch wearing black bands in memory of former player Sergej Mandreko. With him in our minds, we started well in the game. Two minutes in, Berni Zimmermann controlled the ball well, but fired wide. After that early chance there was a brief lull, and it took Ferdinand Feldhofer’s XI a bit of time to make their mark on the game, yet by the time the first quarter of an hour was done, Rapid were able to keep the ball mostly in Klagenfurt’s half. Before the half-hour mark, it was time to up the ante: Dejan Petrovic lofted a long ball into the penalty area, where Marco Grüll chased it, brought it down brilliantly, and bought himself the room he needed to fire past the defender and the goalkeeper for 1-0 Rapid (27’)!

The team had well and truly announced their arrival, and just ten minutes later, our band of over 1000 away fans had reason to cheer once more. Moormann teed up a cross into the danger zone, where two Rapid players were waiting, yet it was Zimmermann who timed his move to perfection to get up for the header, and crash the ball home for a close range second! 2-0 (35’)! The home team had to respond, and they did so after our defence unfortunately conceded a penalty for a handball in the area. Gemicibasi scored from the spot to bring Klagenfurt back within one (41’); game on! Seconds later, Zimmermann had his sights set on another goal in Green and White, but this time he was denied by the crossbar (42’) so our team went in at the break with a one-goal advantage and no more.

The second half started the way we wanted it to, as it took just four minutes for Marco Grüll to cross towards Yusuf Demir, who placed a precise header beyond the Klagenfurt keeper’s dive for 3-1! It was a special moment for Demir, who scored for the first time since returning to the club. The intensity of the game remained high, and from the 54th minute onwards Rapid enjoyed a numerical advantage once Klagenfurt’s goalscorer Gemicibasi had been given a second yellow card. Ferdinand Feldhofer then made a change, sending on Jonas Auer in place of Martin Moormann (55’).

It was Marco Grüll who had the next chance, but he couldn’t quite beat the keeper following a square-ball. The beginning of the Rapid quarter-hour saw a triple substitution take place for the Green & Whites as the team looked to see out the game; Thorsten Schick, Kelvin Arase and Srdjan Grahovac came on for Filip Stojkovic, Marco Grüll and Robert Ljubicic (75’). In the following minutes the team pushed forward, but a fourth goal wasn’t forthcoming. Philipp Schobesberger came on for Berni Zimmermann, and he went close to finding the net, only to shoot too centrally (88’), and fellow substitute Arase also missed some gilt-edged chances; one where he just couldn’t quite turn the ball towards an empty net (89’) and another with a header into the side-netting (90’). In the end though, the two-goal cushion was easily enough, and the win was confirmed after 94 minutes of football.

So we returned to Hütteldorf with three points, after an ideal start to life in the Championship Group. Next weekend, our city rivals await us in the Vienna Derby at the Allianz Stadium, and we are already looking forward to an incredible atmosphere and a sea of Green & White support! For now, there’s only one thing to say: Keep it up, Rapid!

Fotos: GEPA, Red Ring Shots