Hectic scenes unfolded immediately after the final whistle of the Vienna football derby between Rapid and Austria. After the 2:1 victory on Sunday, fans from both camps stormed the pitch, pyrotechnics and other objects were thrown, and there were physical altercations. At least one person was injured. Stewards were unable to control the situation, and the police intervened relatively late and positioned themselves on the halfway line. Both coaches condemned the incidents.
Rapid coach Robert Klauß explained: “That spoils the joy. Nobody wants to see what happened afterwards. That’s something that concerns me too.” Such scenes “don’t belong in the stadium,” said Klauß. “These are images that we don’t want to see, they damage our external perception.” However, one cannot look away. Since Rapid is “on probation” after the incidents at the derby last February, there is a risk of points being deducted, the German fears: “That immediately occurred to me.”
Austria’s coach Stephan Helm said: “You can’t brush this aside.” It is shocking “that such riots occur in a country like Austria. You have to be scared when you go to an event like this.” Especially “with your family.”
Rapid won the derby
SK Rapid won the 343rd Vienna derby against Austria Wien. The Hütteldorfers won 2:1 (1:1) and thus also grabbed the lead in the Bundesliga. Dion Beljo (23′) gave the home team the lead with a header in the sold-out Allianz Stadium, Andreas Gruber (45′) equalized before the break. In the 60th minute, Rapid captain Matthias Seidl scored the winning goal.
Rapid coach Robert Klauß fielded the team that had played 1:1 against WAC the previous week – with one change: Guido Burgstaller, who was fit again, replaced 18-year-old Nikolaus Wurmbrand in attack. Austria had last played a Bundesliga match before the international break after cancellations. The derby eleven was the same as the one that played 1:1 against Altach – with the exception that Hakim Guenouche played at left back.
It took less than six seconds for Burgstaller to have the first shot on the purple goal. Austria goalkeeper Samuel Sahin-Radlinger was down in time for the low roller, however. After that, Austria were on the offensive for a few minutes, and Rapid were helping with a few unforced ball losses. The pace and intensity were generally high in the early stages. A long-range shot by Maurice Malone in the 8th minute to the left of the goal was the first approach.
Then Rapid found their way into the game better, but failed to create any real chances. The game was already in danger of slipping into a rut when the 1-0 goal was scored in the 23rd minute. After Auer’s cross from the left, Louis Schaub unintentionally headed the ball to Beljo, who was shot at rather than able to control the header. Nevertheless, the ball was a perfect fit and Sahin-Radlinger was beaten.
Austria wanted to react immediately, but both teams lacked the playing skills and the necessary precision. As is often the case in derbies, the game was decided by fighting. A header from Malone (41′) flew over the goal, and a minute later the German himself was in the penalty area. However, in the eyes of referee Christian-Petru Chiochirca, this was not enough for a penalty. The next combination of the “Violets” via Dominik Fitz and Malone, however, led to the goal: Malone’s sharp cross from the left was directly converted by Gruber in the middle.
Seidl scores to make it 2-1
After the break, the 26,000 or so spectators in the west of Vienna saw an open game – with visual advantages for Rapid. A Beljo cross sailed past friend and foe in the 52nd minute. Austria’s defense chief Aleksandar Dragovic had to leave the field in the 53rd minute, apparently due to muscular problems, and shortly afterwards Rapid scored the lead: Seidl received the ball in the penalty area with his back to the goal, created a clear shot with a simple turn and scored.
Towards the end, the chances increased. For Austria, the eye-catching Malone shot over the bar in the 72nd minute, while on the other side Mamadou Sangare was unable to get to the ball properly after a nice move involving several passes. A shot from substitute Wurmbrand (75th) was deflected to the corner, as was a Cvetkovic header (76th). Rapid’s biggest opportunity came in the 78th minute from a clearance attempt by Matteo Perez Vinlöf, which Sahin-Radlinger just managed to get hold of.
In the 81st minute, long-injured striker Marko Raguz made his professional debut for the Violets more than two years after moving from LASK to Austria, but was unable to turn the game around. Rapid held on to its 138th derby victory, and was even closer to 3-1 than its opponents were to equalizing. Sahin-Radlinger blocked Beljo’s final header.
Rapid new league leader
With the victory in the derby, Rapid stormed to the top of the Bundesliga table. There, Green-White are one point ahead of the surprise teams WAC and Blau-Weiß Linz. Sturm Graz are in fourth place, two points behind after a clear 0:3 (0:1) home defeat against WAC. Fifth-placed Salzburg, who only played 0:0 at WSG Tirol, are four points behind.
Salzburg, which has now gone four competitive matches without a win, has played two games less than Rapid, while Sturm has played one game less. The same applies to Austria, which is sixth, six points behind Rapid.
Blau-Weiß had already won 1-0 in Altach on Saturday. Local rivals LASK had emerged from their slump after four consecutive defeats with a 4-2 win against GAK in their second game under coach Markus Schopp. Hartberg are at the bottom of the table after a 2-2 draw in Klagenfurt.
