Rapid Vienna are a famous name in European football, having won the Austrian Bundesliga 32 times in their history but for this particular supporter they will be synonymous with the 1985 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, when a team containing the legendary Hans Krankl was defeated 3-1 by Everton in Rotterdam.
Despite originating the from same area the supporters of each club were traditionally divided by class with Rapid the team of the working class and Austria the more middle class. Rapid hold the upper hand in terms of wins with 132 to 117 and 72 draws (prior to today's game).
Where do I begin to describe this game? It had everything! The first half was stop-start as the tackles flew in, the referee producing a slew of yellow cards in an attempt to keep a lid on things. Eventually though a game of football did break out and it was Rapid who drew first blood when a Thomas Schrammel cross was headed home by an unmarked Louis Schaub after 39 minutes.
Rapid were in complete control and really should have added a 3rd, 4th or 5th goal but they were soon to rue those wasted chances. It was a big ask to continue at that pace and as the homesters began to fade Austria found a way back into the game when Dominik Prokop (72) fired home.
The pendulum had now swung and it was Austria now asking the questions of the Rapid back line and in the 85th minute Prokop was tripped in the box by Schrammel, who as last man was shown a straight red card, and Austria captain Raphael Holhauser stepped to blast the penalty home.
Austria continued to press and when they got a corner after 87 minutes and a hail of missiles rained down from the stand, including lighters, plastic pint cups and what looked like a metal bar. The referee took the players off pitch for a "cooling down" period before returning about 5 minutes later to complete the game.
An incredible afternoon in many ways and utterly compelling. I doubt very much of I will have a better matchday experience this season.
