Free-kick goal by Seidl

LIVE NOW: Red Bull Salzburg vs. SK Rapid!

Always a threat: Rapid goal scorer Matthias Seidl(Bild: GEPA)

SK Rapid has secured its second consecutive 1-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in eight days!

Matthias Seidl scored the winning goal in Wals-Siezenheim on Sunday with a deflected free kick (69th minute), putting the Green-Whites right in the mix at the top of the Bundesliga championship group. The “Bulls,” who fell one point behind Rapid, played a man down from the 67th minute after Joane Gadou was sent off and have gone four competitive matches without scoring a goal.

The match in front of nearly 10,000 fans—about 1,500 of whom were Rapid supporters—began with good chances for both sides. First, Nikolaus Wurmbrand tested Salzburg goalkeeper Alexander Schlager (2nd minute), then Karim Konate got the ball past Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl, but Nenad Cvetkovic cleared it off the line (4th minute).

Salzburg subsequently gained control of the field but were nowhere near as dominant as they had been in their loss to Rapid the previous week. They did manage one top-notch opportunity, however—Konate’s attempt was initially cleared off the line by Cvetkovic, and the striker’s second attempt ended up in Hedl’s arms (26th minute). The visitors had only one other chance before halftime—a goal by Jakob Schöller that was disallowed for a handball (39th minute)—but became significantly more active after the break.

Rapid stepped up their game in the second half
Petter Nosa Dahl, who came on for the injured Lukas Grgic, hit the side netting from close range (56'), Andreas Weimann headed the ball against the outside post (58'), and Wurmbrand was denied by Schlager (60'). Shortly thereafter came the two plays that would decide the match: Dahl ran alone toward the Salzburg goal and was brought down by Joane Gadou, resulting in a red card for the Salzburg defender. Seidl took the resulting free kick from the edge of the penalty area, and Konate deflected the ball into the net, leaving Schlager with no chance.

Down a man, Salzburg tried in vain to equalize. The best chance was squandered by Frans Krätzig, who blasted the ball over the crossbar from a few meters out in the 93rd minute. In the end, it remained the Green-Whites’ first win in Wals-Siezenheim since August 2015 and Rapid’s second 1-0 victory over Salzburg within eight days. This time, however, the win was well-deserved.

The result:
FC Red Bull Salzburg – SK Rapid 0–1 (0–0)
Wals-Siezenheim, Red Bull Arena, 9,957 spectators, Referee Hameter

Goal: 0–1 (70.) M. Seidl

Red card: Gadou (69./Salzburg)

Yellow cards: Vertessen, Horn, Cvetkovic, Lu. Grgic, Amane

Salzburg: Schlager – Drexler, Gadou, Schuster, Krätzig – Bidstrup, Diabate (83. Terzic) – Redzic (62. Vertessen), Alajbegovic (62. Bischoff), Lukic (70. Trummer) – Konate (83. Onisiwo)
Rapid: Hedl – Schöller (53. Ahoussou), Cvetkovic, Raux-Yao – Bolla, Lu. Grgic (53. Dahl), Amane (93. Börkeeiet), Horna – Wurmbrand (84. Gulliksen), Weimann (84. Antiste), M. Seidl