The 342nd Vienna Derby: A Home Win at Last!

A first half flourish which included a quick-fire double from Matthias Seidl and Guido Burgstaller, plus a cool finish from Marco Grüll, helped Rapid to dominate Sunday’s Vienna Derby, and finally claim a home win in the fixture at the 12th time of asking.

 The 342nd Vienna Derby certainly didn’t need an extra incentive before kick off, but with the teams around both SK Rapid and our city rivals winning earlier in the weekend, there was an added touch of pressure in the fight to secure a spot in the ADMIRAL Bundesliga’s Championship Round. Rapid began the weekend just one point ahead of Austria, and only narrowly inside the top six, but to make that place more secure, a first derby win at the 12th attempt in the Allianz Stadium in Hütteldorf was absolutely the aim for Sunday’s big game.

 After recovering quicker than expected and returning to action last time out, captain and goal-getter Guido Burgstaller, fresh from a contract renewal, was ready to lead the line up front ahead of Christoph Lang, Matthias Seidl and Marco Grüll in the attacking midfield roles. Two of those players combined for the first chance of the game in a raucous beginning to the derby; Grüll found room on the left to loop a cross over to Burgstaller in the box, but his early header was only onto the roof of the net (3’). Jonas Auer and Grüll were the next to combine well down the left flank, and a low ball into the centre picked out Lukas Grgic, but his shot was blocked by some desperate defending in front of goal (7’).

 Although Grüll then dragged a shot wide from outside the box (11’) Rapid were preventing the guests from getting a foothold in the contest, with every inch of attacking room being fought for, and the game feeling very much like a derby from the outset. What came next was almost a dream derby scenario for SK Rapid; a neat backheel released Burgstaller down the right with two Green & White shirts in support, he laid the ball across to Seidl, and the number 18 had the composure to fire the ball low past the keeper and give the hosts the lead! 1-0 (18’). Just seconds later, Marco Grüll clipped a quickly taken free kick into the penalty area, and with the Austria defence in disarray, Burgstaller was able to head the ball in comfortably for a very rapid second goal! 2-0 (20’)!

 The nature of the match changed a little after the sudden two-goal lead was established, and aside from a few more dangerous deliveries into the box from the home side, the chance creation began to dry up somewhat. Austria then had their best moment of the game out of nothing, as Dominik Fitz crashed a shot onto the crossbar with Niki Hedl diving over at full-stretch (35’), but Seidl replied with a shot off-target at the other end, before Grüll galopped clear of the defence, rounded the keeper and slotted the ball in for 3-0 (40’)! As if that wasn’t good enough, he almost added a fourth with another powerful run, but his near-post shot was well-saved by the visiting keeper (42’). Needless to say, Rapid went in at the break in very good spirits indeed.

The second half soon suffered a delay as smoke cleared from away fans’ flares, but the visiting team began with the look of a side that knew they needed a goal, and fast. Neraysho Kasanwirjo had to be alert to deflect one Austria effort over the bar (53’) and then Hedl made himself a hero first with a brave point blank stop (57’) before a stunning reflex fingertip save to push Muharem Huskovic’s shot past the post (59’). When Hedl grabbed the ball after the resulting corner, the jubilant reaction from Grgic showed what it meant to Rapid to weather the early second-half storm.

Another Austria shot flew over the top of the Rapid goal after the hour mark as the guests had no choice but to throw everything into the attack, but as the minutes wore on, the quality of their chances dropped off, and Rapid remained comfortably ahead despite creating little since the restart. Before the beginning of the Rapid Quarter-hour, Moritz Oswald and Fally Mayulu came on in place of Lang and Burgstaller who received a rousing send-off from the 26,000 strong crowd, and when Manuel Polster sent a shot wide of the Rapid goal (79’) the home win began to feel very close for those in the stadium. Mayulu could only prod the best chance of the closing stages towards the target, but in truth it mattered little to anyone. More important was the chance to give Seidl and Grüll an ovation from the crowd as they were withdrawn in stoppage time, as Rapid cruised to the finish line in a crushing Vienna Derby victory! THAT’S HOW IT’S DONE!

Fotos: GEPA