last-gasp trimmel earns rapid draw with dynamo published: thursday 3 october 2013, 20.55cet
sk rapid wien 2-2 fc dynamo kyiv
christopher trimmel headed in a 94th-minute equaliser as rapid shook off a lacklustre first-half performance to earn a share of the group g spoils.
christopher trimmel headed in a 94th-minute equaliser to complete a stirring comeback for sk rapid wien against group g rivals fc dynamo kyiv.
time looked to be running out when home side's captain trimmel rose ten metres out to meet stephan palla's cross with a perfectly directed header. palla had also been instrumental in rapid's first of the evening eight minutes after the interval, for guido burgstaller, as they set about undoing a torrid first half that ended with them trailing to andriy yarmolenko's strike and a christopher dibon own goal.
the finale was in stark contrast to the first 45 minutes, when yarmolenko and dieumerci mbokani harried rapid to the point of submission. there was a warning early on when the pair combined well, but, with the path to goal clear, yarmolenko jumped the gun and the assistant referee's raised flag halted him in his tracks. the winger timed his intervention perfectly on the half-hour mark, though, meeting benoît trémoulinas's cross on the penalty spot with a crisp shot.
four minutes later, it went from bad to worse for rapid when younes belhanda played a one-two with the knotty mbokani on the edge of the box. palla got across to it but fired his clearance straight at dibon's head, after which goalkeeper ján novota could only watch as the ball slowly bobbled into the vacant net. dynamo were playing with swagger – and mbokani was a whisker away from making it 3-0.
yet rapid emerged from the break a force renewed. with half-time substitute ognjen vukojević off the pitch, burgstaller halved the deficit and the game took on a different complexion. terrence boyd and louis schaub went close, and maxym koval kept out burgstaller and a thanos petsos free-kick. dynamo, who threatened on the break, increasingly looked to have done enough, before trimmel ensured that the spoils were shared.
