Double within reach

LIVE: Cup winner LASK faces Rapid

Great jubilation at LASK: The double is still within reach!(Bild: GEPA)

LASK has taken another step toward the double. On Monday evening, the cup winner turned the match around against Rapid and celebrated a 3-1 victory in the end. This dashed Rapid’s hopes of winning the league title. 

LASK has taken a major step closer to winning the double. The newly crowned cup champions turned a 0-1 deficit into a 3-1 home victory against Rapid on Monday, putting them two points ahead of Sturm Graz in the Bundesliga championship group with two rounds remaining. They would clinch the title as early as Sunday if they earn more points at home against Salzburg than Sturm does in Hartberg. Fourth-place Rapid, on the other hand, can no longer win the championship.

Janis Antiste had put the Hütteldorf side ahead (12th minute), but the Upper Austrians stepped up their game significantly after halftime and, in front of 16,289 fans, turned the match around thanks to goals from Sascha Horvath (52nd minute), Samuel Adeniran (63rd, penalty), and “super sub” Moses Usor (75th) to turn the game around.

LASK coach Dietmar Kühbauer made only one change from Friday’s Cup final against Altach—Krystof Danek for Usor. The 120 minutes in Klagenfurt were clearly still weighing on his team, at least in the early stages, as Rapid immediately took control. A goal by Petter Nosa Dahl was disallowed due to the Norwegian being in a razor-thin offside position (4).

Rapid took a deserved lead through Antiste
Eight minutes later, Bendeguz Bolla sent a long cross to Kara, who headed it on to Antiste, and the Frenchman finished with a first-time volley. Only then did LASK find their footing in the match, though they remained largely harmless—until Adeniran headed a sharp cross from Danek over the goal from close range (39').

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

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The second half began with a golden opportunity for Rapid. Ercan Kara broke through on the right side, but Dahl missed his cross by inches (46'). LASK responded with a shot wide by Sasa Kalajdzic from a tight angle (51') and, just seconds later, with the 1-1 equalizer. After a one-two with Kalajdzic, Horvath scored with a composed low shot. In the 55th minute, Kasper Jörgensen hit the side netting, and at the other end, Kara narrowly missed the target (59th).

Immediately afterward, Kalajdzic went down in the box following a challenge by Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao, and referee Alexander Harkam awarded a penalty. The Austrian national team striker initially grabbed the ball but then handed it to Adeniran, who slotted it low into the right corner. LASK was now in control, and Rapid’s substitutions of Yusuf Demir, Andreas Weimann, and Nikolaus Wurmbrand did nothing to change that.

Decision by "Joker" Usor
The decisive moment came from a set piece. Following a corner, LASK effortlessly worked their way through the penalty area, and Usor—who had just come on as a substitute—beat Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl with a shot into the near corner. Rapid could no longer mount a comeback and must now continue to wait for their first title since 2008. In the frantic closing minutes, Matthias Seidl was shown a red card for a rough foul on Melayro Bogarde (97th minute) and will now miss at least this coming Sunday’s home derby against Austria.