ÖFB Cup Round 2: Second-Half Comeback Secures The Win!
After winning the Vienna Derby on Sunday, Rapid’s mid-week task would be to take on SR Donaufeld in Round 2 of the ÖFB Cup on Wednesday evening. There would be no need for a long away trip for this cup tie, as it was taking place in the Viennese district of Döbling, at the Hohe Warte Arena. Rapid had met SR Donaufeld in the early stages of last season’s ÖFB Cup run, winning 7-0 at Sport Club Platz, but in the first round this season, the Regional League East outfit had provided the campaign’s first major “Cupset” by seeing off Bundesliga side SCR Altach 2-0. Robert Klauß would once again have to go without Isak Jansson and Ryan Mmaee, but there was nevertheless enough quality in the squad to get the job done despite some rotation, as Benjamin Böckle, Maximilian Hofmann, Moritz Oswald, Tobias Børkeeiet and Nikolaus Wurmbrand all got the nod to start.
The spectators in the Hohe Warte Arena had plenty of action to enjoy right from the start, with Niki Wurmbrand the main protagonist on three occasions. As early as the fifth minute, our number 48 was alone in front of goal, but defenders got across quickly to rescue things for the hosts. A shot after a corner kick was also saved well (17‘), as was another attempt from our young striker (18’). The possession spoke volumes about the flow of the game in the early stages (70-30), but we weren’t creating the chances which would lead to an opening goal, and as a result, we were left shocked in the 30th minute: Donaufeld tested our keeper in their first attack with a shot from the edge of the area, but when the ball was parried, former WAC-man Marcel Holzer reacted quickest and fired home on the rebound to get the “home” team dreaming of a Cupset! 1-0 to the home side (30’). That should have been a wake-up call for the Green & Whites, but any more chances that we found, such as a shot on goal from Louis Schaub (36’) simply couldn’t be converted into goals, so we trailed at half-time!
Just three minutes after the break, Rapid found the necessary response after the first half. Niki Wurmbrand broke away on the left wing, his cross into the middle squirmed past the goalkeeper, and Dion Beljo was there to turn the ball into the net via a deflection from a desperate last-ditch tackle. 1-1 (48’). Only a few seconds later, a Donaufeld goal-kick would be headed right back downfield for the advancing Beljo to get on the ball again, and this time he cut in from the right-flank to the edge of the box, and from there, slotted the ball neatly past the keeper’s dive and into the corner to complete a top speed turnaround! 2-1 to Rapid (50’)!
It only took four more minutes before the Green & Whites made the most of the new momentum on their side, and after a quickly-taken free-kick, Mama Sangaré curled in a delightful finish from just outside of the box, and suddenly Rapid had gone from being 1-0 down to 3-1 ahead (54’)! Dennis Kaygin and Christoph Lang then came on to replace goal-scorer Sangaré and captain Matthias Seidl (60’), and after a busy shift, Niki Wurmbrand was swapped for Roman Kerschbaum (72’). The closing stages were no longer really an attacking spectacle, as Rapid felt that the game was under control. Lang tried a few shots from range, and Beljo was denied by the frame of the goal, but in the end, we could breathe a sigh of relief! After the game was up, we could celebrate a 3-1 away win, and safe passage to the next round of the cup!
Fotos: SK Rapid | Widner
UNIQA ÖFB-Cup | 2. Runde | Naturarena Hohe Warte
Tore: Beljo (48., 50.), Sangaré (54.); Holzer (30.)
Rapid-11: Hedl; Böckle, Raux-Yao, Hofmann, Oswald; Børkeeiet, Sangaré (60. Kaygin); Seidl © (60. Lang), Schaub; Wurmbrand (72. Kerschbaum), Beljo
Ersatz: Gartler, Kerschbaum, Grgić, Lang, Auer, Kaygin, Bolla