Beaten in Vienna
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Disappointing 0-1 defeat to Rapid
Despite dominating and creating a host of chances, our Red Bulls lost at Rapid Vienna today, with the hosts pouncing on the break and our boys unable to be clinical enough in the second half.
Match summary
The match started at a blistering pace, with the game immediately becoming a high-tempo affair in the direction of the Rapid goal. Eddy Baidoo, in particular, made an early impact. First, he aimed inside the far post from the left, but Hedl was equal to the effort (9'). Shortly after, a low cross from Krätzig found our Ghanaian in the six-yard box, but the Rapid goalkeeper again came out on top (10').
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Bidstrup and the boys quickly took control of the game, which was reflected in the fact that we won several crucial challenges. Baidoo was once again the beneficiary, attempting a header after a cross from Kerim Alajbegovic, but lacking sufficient power, his effort was saved by Hedl (20').
Time and again, our lads caused problems for the hosts' back three, but a goal remained elusive. The Green and Whites had a brief moment to celebrate when Ahoussou headed home a free kick – however, since he was standing offside before the cross, the goal was disallowed (28'). At the other end, Alajbegovic received a perfect pass from Damir Redzic, but his shot from around 12 yards out sailed over Hedl's goal (34'). Shortly afterwards, the decisive moment of the match came.
Out of nowhere, the Viennese launched a counter-attack, sending Gulliksen through on goal. He kept his composure and squared the ball to the criminally unmarked Antiste, who simply had to tap it in. The ball was ultimately deflected by Drexler and found the back of the net (39') – and we went into the break a goal down.
The second half unfolded in a similar fashion. Redzic had the first clear-cut chance for our side, but after a precise pass from Baidoo, the Hungarian lacked composure when one-on-one with Hedl and missed the target by a considerable margin (51'). Daniel Beichler reacted around the hour mark, bringing on Oliver Lukic and Karim Konate. About ten minutes later, Yorbe Vertessen and Aleksa Terzic also entered the fray. The attacking introductions immediately caused problems, especially when Terzic crossed the ball to his Belgian teammate – whose right-footed shot was cleared at the last moment – and Konate, after a corner, fired a shot from a promising position towards the far post, narrowly missing the target (74').
Not much else happened until the end of regulation time, but the five minutes of added time proved to be eventful. After a short corner, Redzic looked up and found Konate, who was completely unmarked. The Ivorian placed the ball perfectly into the net for a deserved equaliser – not so fast though, as a VAR review adjudged it to be offside!
The 1-0 defeat away at Rapid Vienna at the end of the regular season sees us go into the championship group as runners-up in the table. The exact fixture list will be published on our website immediately after the draw.
Views on the game
We were dominant from the first to the last second, had six or seven clear-cut chances and lots half-chances, and then we conceded one shot – and it went in. It's typical of the way the week has gone. Obviously, we still have to take a hard look at ourselves - after all, we didn't manage to score a single goal this week. It's going to be difficult to win games playing like that. You can't fault the lads for their performance and energy though.
Daniel Beichler
Things just aren't clicking in front of goal right now. We haven't been clinical enough. We are taking too many chances to score and we have to be more effective. We had three or four clear-cut opportunities. You have to pick up points to finish top and become champions – and at the moment we're not doing that well enough.
Kerim Alajbegovic
Match data
Line-ups & substitutions
SK Rapid: Hedl – Cvetkovic, Raux-Yao, Ahoussou – Nunoo (22. Gulliksen), Seidl ©, Grgic, Horn (80. Gröller) – Wurmbrand (69. Dahl), Weimann (80. Kara), Antiste (69. Borkeeiet)FC Red Bull Salzburg: Schlager – Drexler, Gadou, Schuster, Krätzig (69. Terzic) – Bidstrup ©, Diambou (60. Lukic), Alajbegovic (80. Bischoff) – Redzic, Yeo (69. Vertessen), Baidoo (60. Konate)
Referee: Harald LechnerYellow cards: Dahl (90.+6/Foul) bzw. Gadou (48./Foul), Diambou (50./Foul), Bidstrup (75./Foul)
Injury news
Not available were Takumu Kawamura (knee), Sota Kitano (thigh), Stefan Lainer (thigh), John Mellberg (thigh) and Justin Omoregie (shoulder).