Rapid goals down Dudelange
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
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F91 Dudelange 1-6 SK Rapid Wien A three-goal burst in the opening five minutes ensures Rapid take control.
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By Manfred Christoph at Stade Jos Nosbaum
A three-goal burst in the opening five minutes ensured SK Rapid Wien took full control of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie against F91 Dudelange in front of a capacity crowd.
Comfortable lead
The home side became the first team from Luxembourg to advance through a round in the Champions League last week, beating Bosnia-Herzegovina's NK Zrinjski 4-1 on aggregate. But they found life much tougher against the Austrian champions, who gained their record European away win.
Opening goals
After just two minutes, Rapid captain Steffen Hoffmann set up Axel Lawaree, and the striker picked his spot in the top corner from the left of the area. Only one minute later Andreas Ivanschitz made the most of a misunderstanding in the home side's defence and laid the ball on for Akagündüz, who chipped the Dudelange goalkeeper to double the lead.
Martine strike
Rapid then increased their lead when the German striker Hoffmann diverted an Ivanschitz shot into the net. Stéphane Martine brought the champions of Luxembourg back into the game on nine minutes with a powerful shot, but they were soon on the defensive again and Lawaree went close.
Akagündiz again
In the 15th minute, Akagündiz scored his second with a shot from the right, 16 metres out. He nearly had a hat-trick nine minutes later, but was unable to find the target after a long clearance from the Rapid defence.
Loud support
Rapid, given loud support by hundreds of fans in green and white, were dominating the midfield, leaving the hosts bamboozled. However, Dudelange strikers Joris Di Gregorio, Gaël Hug and Martine did not give up and all ensured visiting goalkeeper Helge Payer was not just a spectator.
Friday draw
Lawaree increased the lead into a luxurious 5-1 after 64 minutes, and near the end Roman Kienast completed the scoring, to ensure Rapid will be able to take a more than close interest in Friday's third qualifying round draw, for which the winners of this tie will not be seeded.
