Jansson Goal Only Enough for a Draw in Hütteldorf

 Having shown mental and physical resilience a week ago to strike back deep in stoppage time and take a point from Salzburg, Rapid were back on home turf for a clash against former boss Peter Pacult and his SK Austria Klagenfurt side on Matchday 26. The guests have impressed to reach the Championship Group for a third time, and although points have been hard to come by for them, they’ve won three and drawn one of their last five meetings against Rapid, including a 3-2 victory at the Allianz Stadium in October 2023. For another sunny Sunday evening game, Head Coach Robert Klauß opted to rest the influential Marco Grüll, as he began on the bench, leaving an attacking trio of Isak Jansson, Matthias Seidl and Christoph Lang in behind striker Guido Burgstaller.

The Green & Whites wanted to pull level with LASK again after the Linzers won on Friday night, and they began the game in a furious fashion. A smart backheel from the byline on the left got the ball to Burgstaller, he passed to Isak Jansson on the left edge of the area, and his hard, low shot squeezed past keeper Philip Menzel and into the net for the early lead! 1-0 (5’). Menzel soon showed his more familiar form by producing a brilliant reflex save to deny Jansson a second at close range (6’) as Rapid kept their foot firmly on the gas pedal early on.

The initial pressure began to wear off, but there was one more big warning for the visitors when Burgstaller slotted through for Seidl, who then clipped the ball over the keeper for Moritz Oswald to hammer into the net on the far side (19’). Unfortunately, celebrations were cut short by a raised offside flag from the initial through-ball, but the hosts still had the lead, and there was little to shout about for the traveling group of fans until Sinan Karweina lashed a first-time effort towards Niki Hedl’s near post (27’), a shot which was calmly held by the Rapid keeper. Nikolas Sattlberger unfortunately picked up a fifth booking in the build-up to that half-chance, meaning he’ll miss the trip to Graz on Friday.

In the closing stages of the half, chances were generally few and far between, but the home side held Klagenfurt at bay, and there were openings at the other end when Jonas Auer controlled a long ball expertly before being prized away in the area (38’), or when Jansson cut inside and forced a good block in front of goal. Terence Kongolo had to go off in first-half stoppage time after an injury, with the Carinthian Michael Sollbauer taking his place for the final seconds before the break.

Rapid looked to begin the second half as they’d started the first, and a shot on the turn from Burgstaller whistled just wide of the post when advantage was played within moments of the restart (47’) before our number 9 sent a header looping just over the bar and onto the roof of the net (53’) as we looked for a second goal. Instead, Klagenfurt struck back out of the blue. A routine cross from the right wing was deflected back into the area, and it fell kindly for Max Besuschkow, who had the composure to smash it home for 1-1 (54’).

The guests seemed to find a second wind following the sudden equaliser, and defender Gkezos steered a header just wide from a corner, with Jonas Arweiler almost there to turn it in by the post (62’). The Green & Whites needed some new momentum, so on came Ismail Seydi and Marco Grüll to a great roar from the crowd (69’), and just one minute later Seydi slotted a perfect no-look pass in behind for Burgstaller, who lifted the ball over the keeper, only to see it agonisingly cleared off the goal line at the very last second (71’). So close!

A quick restart from a drop-ball situation almost got Guido Burgstaller back into a good position (80’), as Rapid began to dominate again, surging forward with 19,000 fans behind them every step of the way, but despite getting the ball into the box time and time again, there was no way to reestablish a lead before the game was up. Ultimately it’s two points dropped for the Green & Whites, but we’ll keep our heads up and look forward to a double header against Sturm Graz. A dress rehearsal for the Cup final, if you will!

Fotos: GEPA