In front of 21,700 spectators at the Allianz Stadium, Nenad Cvetkovic put Rapid Vienna in the lead (23rd minute). Dion Beljo converted a penalty (32nd minute) and Isak Jansson increased the lead shortly before the break (44th minute). Rapid now has the opportunity to compete for the championship title from the end of March. The gap to the league leaders Sturm Graz and Austria Vienna is six points after the points were halved.

Rapid Vienna Sought and Found the Early Decision Against GAK

The hosts, with Jonas Auer and Matthias Seidl moving into the starting lineup compared to the Europa Cup match on Thursday against Banja Luka, started with pressure. The first warning shot from Mamadou Sangare missed the target (10th minute). The Graz team, whose suspended coach Rene Poms was represented on the line by co-coach Dino Skvorc, initially waited. Daniel Maderner tried his luck with a lob from the halfway line, but the very far out goalkeeper Niklas Hedl managed to clear the ball just in time (11th minute). Rapid remained the dominant team but was too inaccurate in open play. The lead, therefore, came logically from a set piece. After a Seidl corner, Cvetkovic extended with the back of his head to take the lead. Nikolaus Wurmbrand soon after snatched the ball from the GAK defense, but his shot was just blocked by Lukas Graf while lying down (28th minute).

Less than 60 seconds later, Maderner fouled Cvetkovic in the penalty area, and referee Stefan Ebner awarded a penalty after reviewing the video footage. Beljo did not miss the opportunity and increased the lead. But that was not all: Jansson initially missed the 3-0 in a duel with keeper Florian Wiegele (39th minute), but the Swede did better after a long ball from Auer and scored unstoppably. At halftime, GAK brought in fresh forces with Laszlo Kleinheisler and Thorsten Schriebl, but Thomas Schiestl missed the chance to bring the Styrians back into the game (47th minute). Rapid missed the fourth goal through Wurmbrand (62nd minute) and substitute Noah Bischof (89th minute), but played out the lead confidently. While the Viennese achieved their second victory in the sixth league game in spring and - much more importantly - the long-awaited qualification for the championship group, GAK suffered their fourth consecutive defeat.

(APA/Red)

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