Rapid rise to the top

By Raimund Fabi

Christian Mayrleb's goals have shot SV Pasching into contention in the Austrian Bundesliga but SK Rapid Wien lead the way after replacing city rivals FK Austria Wien at the top.

Rapid rise
Rapid have lost just once in the Bundesliga and held Austria to a 1-1 draw on 24 October. That was the only league goal coach Josef Hickersberger's side conceded in the past month after victories over FC Wacker Tirol (2-0), SV Austria Salzburg (1-0) and SK Sturm Graz (2-0). Even Saturday's goalless draw away to strugglers SV Mattersburg was not enough to knock them off top spot.

Austria slip
Austria's form has dipped, and after drawing a highly-charged Viennese derby with Rapid, they lost the lead after being defeated 2-1 by Pasching on 27 October. Victories over Wacker and SW Bregenz (both 2-0) have since kept Austria a point off the pace. Against Bregenz, they won through late goals from Markus Kiesenebner and Radoslaw Gilewicz, capping a good week for the Polish striker who also scored the only goal in the midweek UEFA Cup win against Real Zaragoza.

Pasching impress
Pasching climbed to third after seven consecutive victories, but that run ended with Sunday's 2-1 home loss to champions Grazer AK. Much of Pasching's success has been down to Mayrleb, who has scored a chart-topping 15 goals, including a hat-trick in the 4-0 triumph against Mattersburg on 23 October. Pasching face a difficult test in the coming weeks after captain Michael Baur pulled a hamstring against GAK.

GAK falter
GAK were 3-1 winners over KS Amica Wronki in the UEFA Cup last Thursday, but in the league Walter Schachner's side have faltered. Prior to beating Pashing and Amica, they were held by Mattersburg on 30 October, three days after losing 1-0 to Sturm. They are six points off the pace in fourth.

Kraft sacked
Salzburg are fifth, a point ahead of Wacker who on Wednesday appointed Stanislav Cherchesov as coach in place of Helmut Kraft, who was sacked after losing six of the last seven league matches. Cherchesov has signed a contract until the end of 2004 when a decision will be made on his future.

Bregenz bottom
Bregenz remain bottom after losing 2-0 to Austria on Sunday. They are five points behind Sturm who beat Wacker. Salzburg climbed to mid-table after defeating VfB Admira Wacker Mödling 2-0.