Austria & LASK advance

Conference: Rapid, LASK, Austria from 18:15 LIVE

SK Rapid was eliminated from the ÖFB Cup against second division Stripfing.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

SK Rapid made a surprising exit in the last 16 of the ÖFB Cup. Last season's finalists were beaten 1:2 (1:0) by second-division side SV Stripfing on Wednesday at the Hohe Warte in Vienna after conceding two late goals. Vienna's Austria, whose cooperation club is Stripfing, won a lackluster 1:0 (1:0) at SV Horn. LASK fought back from a goal down to win 2-1 at ASK Voitsberg, who were promoted to the second division.

As announced, Rapid coach Robert Klauß opted for a rotated team for the 22nd competitive match of the season. Goalkeeper Niklas Hedl was the only undisputed regular against the Austria cooperation club. The defense and attack were completely reshuffled. This also had an effect on the game, as the favorites were unable to create any real top chances from the game. When it was dangerous, it was mostly from set-pieces, such as a Hofmann header (11') and a Kaygin free-kick (22').

On the counter-attack, the second-division side, who were lurking on the counter-attack, should have taken the lead out of nowhere. Marco Hausjell failed to put the ball in the net from four meters (23'). Maximilan Hofmann headed Rapid into the lead after a Böckle corner in the 39th minute. After the break, Hütteldorf controlled proceedings for the time being. A higher victory would have been possible, but Lang missed (53') and Noah Bischof's shot was saved by Stripfing goalkeeper Kilian Kretschmer (68') and Louis Schaub (75').

There was nothing to suggest a turnaround in front of 2,545 spectators, but it came nonetheless. Jakob Schöller played a cross into his own penalty area to Darijo Pecirep, who did not miss his chance as a "joker" (79'). And it got even worse for Rapid: Dejan Radonjic scored the winner for the underdogs after a free-kick cross that the Green-Whites were unable to clear. Substitutes Matthias Seidl and Dion Beljo were also unable to prevent the embarrassment, the latter hitting the crossbar with a free-kick (91'). This put an early end to Rapid's quest for another place in the final as they lost again after eleven unbeaten competitive matches.

Austria, on the other hand, continued their winning streak after three recent league victories. The Violets made slightly fewer changes than their local rivals in Horn, with striker Marko Raguz starting for the first time since February 2022 and for the first time for Austria in a competitive match. Horn conceded little and the winning goal was more a product of chance: A shot from Reinhold Ranftl at the second attempt was deflected into the goal by his colleague Lucas Galvao (35'). Andreas Gruber missed the chance for an earlier decision after a header from substitute Manfred Fischer (52').

LASK win after falling behind
The underdogs took the lead in Voitsberg. Martin Krienzer made Hrvoje Smolcic look bad and beat LASK goalkeeper Jörg Siebenhandl (33'). Linz replied shortly before the break after a fine combination, which captain Robert Zulj finished off from the back after a pass from Valon Berisha (42'). Shortly after the restart, Maksym Talowjerow hit the bar with his head after a Zulj corner, the rebound was converted by half-time substitute Philipp Ziereis (47'). Voitsberg did not give up, with Krienzer in particular causing danger on several occasions for the promoted second division side. In one scene, the crossbar, the bar and finally Siebenhandl saved for LASK (56'). The woodwork also shook once more in the final stages. Like Austria, however, Linz also advanced to the quarter-finals, just like last year.

Here are the results:

SK Rapid 2:1 SV Stripfing (0:1)
Vienna, Hohe Warte.

Goals: Pecirep (79.), Radonjic (85.) and Hofmann (39.)

SV Horn - FK Austria Wien 0:1 (0:1)
Horn.

Goals: Ranftl (35.)

ASK Voitsberg - LASK 1:2 (1:1)

Goals: Krienzer (33.) and R. Zulj (42.), Ziereis (47.)