Storm cheers / Image: APA / ERWIN SCHERIAU
Rapid has bought the ticket for the football Europa League in a sovereign manner. The runner-up won the play-off second leg at Sorja Luhansk 3-2 on Thursday and is in the group stage for the ninth time thanks to a total score of 6-2 – making the Hütteldorfer, together with PSV Eindhoven and Lazio Rome, record holders. A pleasant side effect is an entry fee of 3.6 million euros, plus additional income, for example from ticket sales or possible bonus points.
While Rapid wobbled a lot at home 3-0 a week ago, this time they were never really in danger. This was thanks, among other things, to an optimal first quarter of an hour in which Marco Grüll and Leo Greiml ensured a comfortable 2-0 lead.
Coach Dietmar Kühbauer was very satisfied afterwards. “That was a top performance of ours. We did what we set out to do right from the start, and with a quick 2-0 we also had a good game,” the Burgenlander told Ö3 / Radio Wien. The rise was deserved. “With this overall score, there is no question of who was the better team.”
The appearance in Ukraine already meant the sixth European Cup match of the green-whites this summer. “It was a lot of stress and work, but in the end we rewarded each other and I'm happy for the team, the club and the fans,” said Kühbauer and praised his protégés. “The team has shown that they are one unit and that they really want to play in the Europa League, so I'm very proud of them.”
Storm comeback in Europe
After a ten-year absence, Sturm Graz will make a comeback in the group stage of the Europa League in autumn. The Styrians mastered the way there in the play-off with flying colors. As in the 3-1 first leg win, Slovenia's champions NS Mura were shown the limits on Thursday with a 2-0 win in the Merkur Arena. “In the end, Sturm were simply the better team,” Mura coach Ante Simundza had to admit.
The Graz team let absolutely nothing get lost and had the necessary luck with a decisive deflected long shot from Otar Kiteishvili (39th) just before the break. Jakob Jantscher (66th) was left with the highlight of the game for the final point, the 32-year-old striker hit the corner in the penalty area from the turn. With competitive goal number four of the season, he once again underpinned his scoring risk, that he is in top form in his old days is also underpinned by being called to the ÖFB squad for the September internationals.
“It was a mature, intelligent, sovereign performance by my team. With the opening goal we then gained security,” summed up Sturm coach Christian Ilzer. With third place in the Bundesliga last season, the 43-year-old laid the foundation for the Graz team to only have to overcome one qualifying hurdle. In the current season they are in an even better position in the championship with ten points from five games, finishing second. So Ilzer did a lot right in his tenure of just over a year, which was also rewarded by an early contract extension until 2024.
Lask remains patient and rewards himself
As expected, LASK also had to show a lot of patience in the second leg of the play-off to enter the newly created Football-Europa-Conference-League. And that was exactly the key to success in the end. Because after the 1-0 in the 72nd minute, host St. Johnstone broke all the rope. The jubilation among the Linzers after their third entry into a European group stage en suite is great. For the rest of the season, this can amount to an exemption.
Because before the 2-0 away win in Scotland, the team of coach Dominik Thalhammer had last in three competitive games in a row without a win. The Linzers will now be able to play at least six more games on a European level this autumn. “That gives us a lot of motivation for the tasks ahead,” said the coach. His team was always patient in the game. “We knew that the opponent would eventually let up.”
He was also right: With two exclusions in the final phase, the Scots took themselves out of the game after the 1-0 win. The second goal by Marko Raguz with a penalty made things clear in the end. For the striker, after his comeback, that's a boost in motivation: “Taking responsibility in a game like this is my job. Of course, I was very happy that I was able to help the team,” stated Raguz.
