Rapid made to pay for a slow start in the 337th Vienna Derby

Rapid were unable to fully recover from two early Austria goals, as a big second half penalty shout went unanswered, and a second half fightback culminating in Ante Bajic’s goal fell just short in the 337th Vienna Derby.

 On Sunday afternoon the Allianz Stadium played host to a special occasion in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga, as match day 11 saw our city rivals FK Austria visit for the 337th edition of the Vienna Derby. With a sold out crowd of 26,000 there to watch the action, the only ones who missed out were the Rapid players who had taken a knock; Nic Kühn was ruled out with an ankle issue, and both Martin Moormann and Maximilian Hofmann were “only” ready for a place on the bench.

Guido Burgstaller started after his brace last time out in our morale-boosting 5-0 win away against WSG, as fellow scorers Ferdy Druijf and Berni Zimmermann led the line up front. Whilst the aim of the day was to kick on and add three points to our tally, the stakes were raised of course with derby-day bragging rights on the line, and it was another chance to get that elusive win at our Hütteldorf home. Once referee Manuel Schüttengruber got the game going, we slumped to the worst possible start; before anyone had settled, Muharem Huskovic cushioned a shot into the far corner of Niki Hedl’s net to give our guests an early lead (4’).

The boys in Green & White settled in well after the setback, and the most clear-cut chance came the way of Ferdy Druijf. A precise pass was lofted into the box, but although the Dutch forward’s control was perfect, he was denied from close range by the gloves of the keeper (13’). Another shot came soon after from Zimmermann, but any danger was taken out of it by a deflection (14’), before Austria launched a counter with disastrous effects. Hedl came out to the left of his box to make the save, but the ball ricocheted back into the danger area, where defenders Michael Sollbauer and Martin Koscelnik brought down Dominik Fitz; he stepped up to dispatch the resulting spot kick for 2-0 to Austria (17’).

With nothing falling our way, and too many passes going astray, Matthias Braunöder hit the roof of the net following a dipping volley (24’), but at the other end Rapid were still struggling to get a foothold on the attack. Marco Grüll attempted some forays into opposition territory, but too often they ended up with free kicks given against our forwards, and for the opening 35 minutes, much of the necessary derby intensity was lacking from Rapid’s play. It was Grüll who fired over the top on the half-volley (37’) as the team tried to muster a response before the break, knowing that getting one back would change the complexion of the game. Instead, Austria had the next gilt-edged chance, when a ball over the top found Huskovic behind the back line, although thankfully Niki Hedl was in position to stop the attacker in his tracks by plucking the ball from the air (41’). The first half came to a close with Rapid trailing by two, and needing a big improvement after the break.

Patrick Greil and Maximilian Hofmann came on at half time, and seconds after the restart Rapid had a big penalty shout waved away when Leo Querfeld was brought down in the box (47’), but other than that, the opening to the second half was fairly quiet, save from a few set-piece deliveries by the Green & Whites. A Ferdy Druijf header then drew an excellent reflex stop from Austria keeper Früchtl, before Zimmermann had a shot blocked (54’) and Rapid appeared to have played their way into the game. A last-ditch tackle from Martin Koscelnik put an end to an Austria attack (57’), but our team were straight back on the offensive, with Früchtl forced into a full-stretch dive to parry a powerful volley from Marco Grüll out on the left (60’).

Thorsten Schick came on as Ferdinand Feldhofer looked to back up the shift in momentum which Rapid were slowly creating (64’), and the next action was a crucial one. Berni Zimmermann was upended at the corner of the penalty area by Galvao, and after a Rapid penalty was awarded, referee Schüttengruber consulted the VAR screen and eventually turned the decision over, sparking celebrations for the players in purple (65’). The home team were winning increasing numbers of free kicks in Austria territory, one of which was lashed just over the top by Grüll just before the Rapid Quarter-Hour, but yellow cards weren’t being dished out, and the all-important goal just wouldn’t come.

Christoph Knasmüllner came on for Roman Kerschbaum (79’), but it was Niki Hedl who just about kept Rapid in the game with a vital one-on-one stop at the feet of Huskovic (80’). Ante Bajic then replaced Berni Zimmermann as the hosts made one last throw of the dice to get something from the game. With the game moving into six minutes of stoppage time, new substitute Bajic got free on the right of the box and fired in across the face of goal to reduce the deficit! A LIFELINE! 1-2 (90’+1). The noise in the stadium reached fever pitch as Rapid pushed for a second, and there was a nervy game of head tennis in the Austria area, but unfortunately no more goal scoring chances came our way.

In the end, after 96 minutes of play, we had to accept defeat at the hands of our city rivals. It’s a bitter pill to take, but at least some positives can be drawn from the second half display, as our attentions quickly turn towards an away match in Ried next weekend, and another meeting with WSG Tirol in the ÖFB Cup later in October. Let’s put this one behind us!

Fotos: GEPA