ÖFB Cup: Unlikely Smash & Grab Sends Rapid Out
In the UNIQA ÖFB Cup Round of 16, head coach Robert Klauß's team made the short trip to the Naturarena in Hohe Warte, just as we had in the previous round. The opponents on Wednesday evening were the Lower Austrian second-tier team SV Stripfing/Weiden. It was clear in the run-up to the clash that some changes would be necessary in the starting XI due to an intense autumn of fixtures, and as a result, the team that started in Döbling had a new, and younger, look. Captain Niklas Hedl was between the sticks, with Benjamin Böckle, Jakob Schöller (making his competitive debut), Maxi Hofmann and Dominic Vincze in defence. Roman Kerschbaum and Dennis Kaygin played in the defensive midfield alongside the more offensively-minded Christoph Lang and Louis Schaub, while Noah Bischof and Niki Wurmbrand formed the attacking duo.
Niki Wurmbrand's opening shot went straight into the gloves of the Stripfing keeper after just a few minutes (5‘) as Rapid started strongly, and a short time later a defender scrambled a header from Maxi Hofmann off the line (11’). The Green & Whites were frequently pushing towards goal, but another attempt by Niki Wurmbrand was saved (15’), and a direct free-kick from Dennis Kaygin sailed just over the crossbar (22'). On the counter-attack, Stripfing then showed themselves for the first time in the Rapid area, but luckily a square-ball across goal just missed the yellow shirts in the middle (23'). The longer the game went on, the more difficult it became for our team to find spaces, yet after a corner kick from Benjamin Böckle, we were able to celebrate a breakthrough. Veteran Maxi Hofmann was in the right place from a corner kick, and he powered his near-post header into the top corner, where the keeper couldn’t stop it! 1-0 to Rapid (39’), and with that we secured what should have been a crucial half-time lead.
The second half began unchanged, in terms of both personnel and playing style. Christoph Lang's shot was the first chance after the break to fly just wide (53'), and Louis Schaub fired an impressive effort just over the bar on the hour-mark, before Rapid broke into the area on the left, only for Noah Bischof’s angled shot to be well-blocked to safety (67’). On came Furkan Dursun for the final 20 minutes, and at the start of the Rapid Quarter-Hour, Schaub was sent through on goal, but again the Stripfing keeper saved with his foot and prevented a second goal (75’).
Roman Kerschbaum was soon replaced by Matthias Seidl (76'), but then came a hammer-blow from out of nothing. After a long-ball downfield, the ball was loose in the box and Darijo Pecirep could slot it in for an unlikely equaliser. 1-1 (79’). Rapid reacted by bringing on Dion Beljo and Jonas Auer (85’), but almost unbelievably, Stripfing then lofted a free-kick into the area which fell kindly for Dejan Radonjic to fire in. 2-1 (85’). With not long left to salvage the situation, Rapid almost made it 2-2 immediately with a scramble in the box, and Beljo’s direct free-kick came back off the crossbar before Schöller hit the rebound off-target.
After 96 minutes, a shock exit from the ÖFB Cup was sealed. It was a painful defeat in a competition which we badly wanted to win after reaching several finals in recent years, but we will have to put it behind us and regroup for the upcoming challenges instead.
Fotos: GEPA
UNIQA ÖFB-Cup | Achtelfinale | Naturarena Hohe Warte
Tore: Hofmann (39.); Pecirep (79.), Radonjic (85.)
Rapid-11: Hedl ©; Böckle, Schöller, Hofmann, Vincze (85. Auer); Kerschbaum (76. Seidl), Kaygin; Lang (85. Beljo), Schaub; Bischof, Wurmbrand (71. Dursun)
Ersatz: Gartler, Raux-Yao, Beljo, Grgić, Seidl, Auer, Dursun