Vienna accepts cup exit: "We put up a good fight"

Vienna put up a good fight, but in the end, they were eliminated in the UNIQA ÖFB Cup round of 16.

It's no shame against SK Rapid, "who are currently the best team in Austria for me," Patrick Enengl was certain after the 0-3 defeat at the latest.

"And yet I say that today's performance was completely okay for us. We really put up a very good fight, and I believe I can hardly fault the team," emphasized the Vienna coach.

"We defended well and stood our ground," Captain Bernhard Luxbacher also thought.

You have to convert one

For a different course of the game, better chance conversion would have been primarily needed. The opponent did allow opportunities – but they remained unconverted.

For example, when Bernhard Zimmermann blasted the ball over from a promising position in the first half. In the final phase, the score should actually have been 1-2 after a Nagele header, had it not been for a superhuman reflex from Niklas Hedl.

"In the end, everything has to go right against Rapid, as was evident today. We had three really good opportunities over 90 minutes – and you just have to convert one of them," Enengl was aware.

"And to create goal chances four, five, and six, the final pass needs to be more precise. That wasn't the case, and then you just lose 0-3 against Rapid."

"I just love that"

All in all, the performance was encouraging from the perspective of a second-division team.

Enengl could also highlight "many things". "The lads are extremely committed, extremely willing, and even today they could step it up a notch in the second half, they were more determined and braver – I just love that."

And even despite exiting in the cup round of 16, the current week can still be a successful one. On Saturday, Blau-Weiß Linz visits the Hohe Warte for the absolute top match of the ADMIRAL 2. Liga (from 4:00 PM in the LIVE stream>>>), and with a victory, Vienna will be laughing from the top of the table.