Vienna's crisis continues

LIVE: Usor scores to make it 2:0 for LASK against Rapid

Kasper Jörgensen celebrates his goal to make it 1-0 for LASK against SK Rapid - it was to be Linz's "can opener" in the match ...(Bild: APA/EXPA/REINHARD EISENBAUER)

The LASK express continues to roll at full speed in the Bundesliga! The Athletiker also won their seventh competitive match under coach Dietmar Kühbauer with a 3-0 win over Rapid on Sunday and have already climbed to third place in the league table with 25 points after 15 rounds. The Linzers are now just one point off the top of the table, having been just one point ahead of then bottom club GAK at the end of September.

Kasper Jörgensen in the 13th minute of first-half stoppage time, Moses Usor (55th) and ex-Rapidler Christoph Lang (83rd) completed the home win in the Raiffeisen Arena. Stefan Kulovits' second interim coaching stint at Rapid thus began with a defeat. It was the Vienna side's fourth defeat in their last five competitive games, their third in a row and the first since Peter Stöger's tenure came to an end. The Hütteldorfer dropped back to fourth place, just six points ahead of tenth-placed Altach. The battle for a place in the championship group could not be any tighter.

Kulovits relied on three new players for his comeback as "boss". Captain Matthias Seidl, Marco Tilio and Petter Nosa Dahl were allowed to try out from the start compared to the 4-1 defeat at Rakow Czestochowa in the Conference League on Thursday. Jonas Auer and Martin Ndzie had to sit on the bench, while the injured Ercan Kara was not in the squad. Nikolaus Wurmbrand was on the bench for the time being, with the injured Bendeguz Bolla and the ill Andrija Radulovic missing. There was no reason for LASK to make any changes after the 3-1 win at Sturm Graz.

Two stoppages before the break
In the first half, the fans of both teams - 16,263 were in the stadium - took center stage as they repeatedly set off Bengal flares, causing one stoppage for nine minutes and then another for six minutes due to poor visibility. Compared to their recent performances, the visitors made more of an effort, but apart from a Gulliksen shot (19th) were completely harmless going forward.

It was a different story for Linz, with Sascha Horvath making a big impression at times. The attacking player failed to beat Paul Gartler, while George Bello's follow-up shot was cleared off the line by Nenad Cvetkovic (34'). Shortly afterwards, Horvath finished off a beautiful dribble with a shot against the bar (37'). Gartler made a point-blank save from Usor (45.+6). However, Jörgensen's shot into the near corner after Jannes Horn had misjudged a long Bogarde pass meant he had to admit defeat.

 "Instead of mercenaries, we want warriors"
After the restart, Linz switched gears quickly and, after an ideal pass from Danek to Samuel Adeniran and the latter's perfect cross, Usor headed in from close range. Gartler prevented an Andrade header (60') from making it 3-0, but after the third stoppage time, this time for around four minutes, he also made a blunder, allowing a shot from Lang to go through his legs and into the far corner. The Rapids fans were disappointed and presented a poster with the slogan "Instead of mercenaries, we want warriors". Their team's highlight remained a header off a bar from substitute Wurmbrand (91').

The result:
LASK - SK Rapid 3:0 (1:0)
Raiffeisen Arena, 16,263 spectators, referee Talic

Goals: 1:0 (45.+13) Jörgensen, 2:0 (55.) Usor, 3:0 (83.) Lang

Yellow cards: Horvath and Amane

LASK: Jungwirth - Cisse, Tornich, Andrade - Jörgensen (88. Flecker), Bogarde (88. Coulibaly), Horvath, Bello - Danek (81. Lang) - Usor (72. Kalajdzic), Adeniran (88. Entrup)
Rapid: Gartler - Demir, Cvetkovic, Ahoussou, Horn (82. Auer) - M. Seidl, Amane - Tilio (61. Schaub), Gulliksen (68. Wurmbrand), Dahl (61. Weixelbraun) - Antiste (68. Mbuyi)