European Cup Playoff

LIVE: SV Ried faces SK Rapid

(Bild: GEPA)

In the battle for the final European Cup spot, SV Ried hosts SK Rapid today in the first leg of the playoff final. We’re covering it live (see below). The score is currently 1-0!

Here’s the LIVE TICKER:

While people in Ried are talking about “bonus games,” the Viennese are fighting to salvage a less-than-satisfactory season. SVR coach Maximilian Senft is making his farewell appearance with the qualifying group winner. The 36-year-old’s move abroad to German second-division club Karlsruher SC has been official since Thursday.

He wants to bid farewell to Ried with a sensation and a spot in European competition, Senft said. “Our team will squeeze out every last percent that’s possible,” Senft announced. After Tuesday’s 2-1 win against WAC, the focus was primarily on recovery. “We’re really running on fumes,” the coach admitted. The second leg will take place on Whit Monday in Hütteldorf.

Ried Was Rapid’s Cup Bogey Team
The Upper Austrians have won two of their three matchups against Rapid this season; most recently, they secured a 3-0 victory in the Cup quarterfinals at the end of January during Rapid coach Johannes Hoff Thorup’s debut. “That was a completely different situation; the coach was still brand-new. In my view, they’ve already developed further and made some changes. It’s going to be a game with a different dynamic,” said Senft.

“We know Ried’s style of play!”
His counterpart saw it that way, too. “There are still many things we need to improve with this team, the coaching staff, and everyone involved—we’re aware of that and have already started working on it. But I expect a different game. I expect a game in which we can show much more of what we’re capable of than in the first match against them,” explained Hoff Thorup. His team must prove that it deserves to play in Europe. “We had hoped to secure one of the top spots to avoid these matches. But since they’re now on the horizon, we’ll give it everything we’ve got. Because it makes a huge difference for the start of next season whether we play in Europe or not.”

“We know Ried’s style of play and know that it can sometimes be a bit difficult to bring pace to the game, but we have to do everything we can to make it happen,” demanded Hoff Thorup. The pressure is clearly on the Viennese. In 2025, they came out on top in the playoff final against LASK.