Out after a penalty shootout

Dream Shattered! Rapid Loses Thrilling Qualifying Thriller

SK Rapid was eliminated by Heart of Midlothian in the Conference League qualifiers.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The Conference League will go on without SK Rapid this year. The Hütteldorf team fell to Heart of Midlothian on Wednesday in a penalty shootout (2–2 after extra time). 

Rapid missed out on its third consecutive appearance in the group stage of the Conference League due to a classic own goal. The Hütteldorf-based team led 1-0 against Heart of Midlothian on Wednesday in the playoff second leg in front of their home crowd thanks to a goal by Ercan Kara (35th minute) 1–0, but then conceded two goals while playing with a man advantage before Nenad Cvetkovic saved the Green-Whites by forcing a penalty shootout (119th minute). There, the two “wild cards,” Moulaye Haidara and Marco Tilio, missed their penalties.

  Rapid coach Johannes Hoff Thorup fielded the same starting lineup for the third consecutive game in front of 23,975 fans and saw his team get off to a lively start. Yusuf Demir caused trouble for Beau Reus with a 30-meter free kick (7th minute), and Tonni Adamsen was denied by the Hearts goalkeeper from a tight angle (8th minute). After that, the game slowed down a bit, but Rapid kept up the pressure and had reason to celebrate just past the half-hour mark. The ball made its way from Bendeguz Bolla to Romeo Amane and then to Demir before reaching Kara, who simply had to finish.

Ercan Kara put Rapid ahead.(Bild: GEPA)

It wasn’t until the final minutes before halftime that the Scots posed any real threat. Claudio Braga (38th) and Oison McEntee (45'+4) tested Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl, while the Hütteldorf side responded with missed shots by Demir (38th) and Kara (40th).

Rapid was begging for a 1–1 tie
The home team’s slump continued in the second half—a volley by Blair Spittal came within a hair of finding the net (47th). Things got particularly dicey when Kara made a save on the line after a shot by Braga following a corner (58th), and Tomas Bent Magnusson—who had come on as a substitute early in the match—headed wide from the five-meter line (75th).

A yellow-red card for Magnusson after a foul on Nikolaus Wurmbrand seemed to play into the Hütteldorf team’s hands, but the opposite turned out to be true. Less than two minutes later, “super sub” Pierre Kabore created space by jostling Kara after a corner and directed the ball toward the goal with his chest. Cvetkovic may have deflected it decisively.

  Rapid then took control of the game again and had a stroke of bad luck when Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao hit the post (86th minute). The Viennese continued to dictate the match in extra time as well, but failed to create any clear-cut chances and conceded the 1–2 goal on a counterattack. Miller finished off a cross from Robers Mato with a spectacular bicycle kick.

Cvetkovic gave Rapid hope
In the closing minutes, Rapid desperately pressed for the equalizer and were rewarded in the 119th minute—Cvetkovic pushed the ball over the line after perfect setup play from Haidara, who had come on as a substitute shortly before. But it was the youngster, of all people, who then failed to beat Reus in the penalty shootout. Hedl gave Rapid another glimmer of hope with his save against McEntee, before Tilio, too, was denied by Reus. That sealed their elimination—against an opponent that Sturm Graz had thrashed just a few weeks earlier in the second qualifying round of the Champions League with an aggregate score of 6–0.

Cvetkovic saved Rapid by forcing the penalty shootout.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

As a result, Rapid misses out on the €3.17 million group stage bonus; promotion would likely have brought in a total of around seven million euros gross. Now, given the large squad, several player departures are likely before the end of the transfer window.