Hard Fight Brings Late Reward against Hartberg

With the international break done and dusted, SK Rapid were back in Bundesliga action on Sunday, facing off on Matchday 10 against a TSV Hartberg side who can boast an excellent record as something of a “bogey team” for the Green & Whites. Head Coach Robert Klauß was keen to move the records back in Rapid’s favour, but he would have to do it without the services of Isak Jansson, Tobias Børkeeiet, Ryan Mmaee and Moritz Oswald, as well as Louis Schaub who had to withdraw at short notice. Ex-Hartberger Christoph Lang would slot into the starting XI, with Mama Sangaré another who had previously spent a spell with the guests in Eastern Styria.

Rapid brought plenty of momentum with them from the break, and after just two minutes, the first good chance was created when Jonas Auer’s dangerous cross was ever so close to being met by Dion Beljo or Guido Burgstaller in the box. After another cross shortly afterwards, Beljo laid the ball off for Matthias Seidl on the edge of the area, and he fired into the bottom corner perfectly, although the goal would be rather harshly ruled-out for a soft-looking foul in the build-up (5’). That was unlucky for Rapid, but after Beljo and Burgstaller headed just wide (8’, 12’), the opening goal would deservedly come along: Lang slipped his through pass over to the right with excellent timing, and Beljo slotted in a cool low shot from there to make it 1-0 (15’)!

After such a strong opening phase, it was a shock to see Hartberg score with their first chance, as Tobias Kainz picked out a perfect half-volley into the corner to level the scores (21’). The Green & Whites kept pushing on, and a Beljo header was well-saved (27’) before an even more remarkable stop saw a long-range Burgstaller effort clawed away from the top-corner of the Hartberg goal (31’). Up until the break, we continued to link-up well, but the final ball was not quite there, and so the teams went in level.

The team returned to the pitch unchanged and the chances continued - Dion Beljo took aim at goal, but his shot was parried again (49'), and it became a hard-fought game where every inch of the pitch was made to count. As the second half wore on, Hartberg took the upper-hand, and Niki Hedl had to make a stunning stop to get back to the goal line and hook a headed effort to safety: He had shown full commitment and strong reflexes, and after a lengthy VAR check, no goal was awarded (60'). Head coach Robert Klauß reacted and brought on Noah Bischof and Dennis Kaygin for Lukas Grgić and Christoph Lang (70'). The game levelled out between the two penalty areas until our changes bore fruit: After intercepting a header back, Guido Burgstaller hit the Hartberg crossbar, but Noah Bischof secured the loose ball in the box and tucked away his first competitive goal for the Green & Whites to make it 2-1 (85')!

The goal was immediately followed by Nikolaus Wurmbrand coming on in place of Beljo (85'), and Maxi Hofmann was also brought on for Matthias Seidl in stoppage time (90’+2). After 95 minutes of really hard fighting, the home win was finally secured!

It was a nerve-wracking game in which our team showed their character and determination to win against a stubborn opponent, and in the end, it was a victory which everyone could enjoy! Bravo, Rapid!

Fotos: GEPA