UEFA Conference League: More Points from Moldova

After wins in the opening two games of the UEFA Conference League, SK Rapid travelled to Moldova in the hunt for a third-straight success, taking on the domestic double-winners FC Petrocub Hincesti for the first time on Thursday evening. Head coach Robert Klauß sent out his tried-and-trusted starting XI at the Stadionul Zimbru, and the game would head in the right direction from the first-half onwards.

Even in the opening moments, Rapid - in their white away shirts - began to dominate possession, alas without any quick chances to get on the board. In the 12th minute, Dion Beljo almost got a good look at goal, but as he pulled the trigger in the box, defenders got over to block the shot. Just seconds later though, Beljo linked up perfectly with Matthias Seidl on the left flank, and after their one-two passes, the ball was played across the area past the keeper and it sat up nicely for Bendi Bolla to hammer it high into the net! His first goal in Rapid colours gave us a 1-0 lead on the road (13’)! The hosts responded well to falling behind, and they began to get forward more, although keeper Niki Hedl rarely had to trouble himself too much. The first half had a sting in the tail of another kind, however, as scorer Bolla went down with nobody else involved, and was not able to continue. Benjamin Böckle came on for the last five minutes of the half, and it would remain 1-0 to Rapid at the break.

The hosts looked livelier after the interval, and although they did create some half-chances, Rapid soon replied in turn, as a Beljo header had to be cleared off the line (50’), before some neat passing resulted in a Petrocub clearance being sliced back towards Guido Burgstaller in the box, and the Rapid forward fired-in ruthlessly on the turn to increase the lead. 2-0 to Rapid (53’)! As in the first half, the joy of a goal was followed by the despair of an injury. This time it was Dion Beljo who went down alone holding his foot, and he had to leave the field for Noah Bischof (59’). Matthias Seidl's evening was soon over and Dennis Kaygin was given the chance to prove himself (60'). Shortly before the Rapid quarter-hour, our number 9 almost added another goal, but his low shot just slipped wide of the far post (74‘), and Louis Schaub's effort from deep inside the box came crashing back off the crossbar (75’). Rapid should have led by three, but we didn’t have to wait too long for that to happen, although a VAR check did delay things somewhat! Grgić lofted a pass through the middle for Burgstaller, who had stayed onside, and he dinked the ball beautifully over the jump of on-rushing keeper and into the back of the Petrocub net. 3-0 Rapid (79’)! Nikolaus Wurmbrand and Thierry Gale got a run-out for the closing stages, but the comfortable win was already assured and it remained 3-0 until the end.

Three wins from three in Europe, and with maximum points, the current position in the UEFA Conference League table is looking very healthy indeed. Great work, Rapid!

Fotos: GEPA