Wurmbrand's Triple and a Bit of a Struggle: Rapid Wins in Klagenfurt

SK Rapid has, not without some difficulty, overcome the hurdle of SK Austria Klagenfurt in the 2nd round of the UNIQA ÖFB Cup.

The Green-Whites had significantly more possession, but two spectacular goals kept the hosts in the game. Matthias Seidl (28'), Nikolaus Wurmbrand (40', 57', 69') and Nicolas Bajlicz (62') scored for the Viennese, while the home side temporarily equalized through two spectacular goals from Tristan Schoppitsch (35', 46').

The visitors started with high tempo, often and easily finding space behind the Carinthians' defensive lines, but the final pass often failed to connect for a long time.

While the hosts sat deep, Wurmbrand (23') and Marco Tilio (25') provided the Green-Whites' first shots after just over 20 minutes. Shortly after, the ball found the back of the net for the first time.

Celebration for Spectacular Equalizer Doesn't Last Long

Sebastian Pschernig lost sight of his opponent Seidl, who was perfectly set up by Tilio in the box. The Rapid captain ruthlessly exploited Klagenfurt's carelessness to give them the lead (28').

Little came from Austria for a long time, but their first good move led to the equalizer: Tristan Schoppitsch received the ball in midfield, broke past four opponents and was not challenged afterwards. The 19-year-old took his chance from around 20 meters and scored a spectacular equalizer (35').

However, the celebration did not last long: Dahl was set up by Seidl in the box, laid the ball off through an opponent's legs, and Wurmbrand netted to restore the lead (40').

Schoppitsch Scores Immediately After Restart for 2-2

But Austria equalized again immediately after the restart.

After the kickoff, things moved quickly; Schoppitsch was picked out with a long ball forward. While Nenad Cvetkovic was still mentally in the locker room, the youngster chipped the ball from the edge of the box, scoring the 2-2 equalizer after just a few seconds (46').

Rapid continued to struggle in the minutes that followed to create real goal-scoring opportunities. However, a brilliant individual effort from Wurmbrand restored their lead.

Wurmbrand Seals the Game with a Hat-Trick

The 20-year-old received the ball at the edge of the box and, in turn, scored a spectacular goal to restore the lead once more (57'). That effectively pulled the plug on the hosts.

After that, Rapid became more incisive in attack. The visitors repeatedly advanced with direct, quick attacking moves; first, Nicolas Bajlicz calmly placed the ball into the far corner (62'), and a few minutes later, Wurmbrand completed his hat-trick (69').

Substitute Tonni Adamsen hit the woodwork just before the final whistle, but no more goals were scored.