Sesko hat-trick steals show in Vienna

FC Red Bull Salzburg

·5 March 2023

Sesko hat-trick steals show in Vienna

Hard-fought 4-2 win against Rapid

In a stunning end to a tough encounter, a Benjamin Sesko hat-trick within seven minutes and two seconds saw us race to a fantastic 4-2 victory in Vienna on the 20th match day of the ADMIRAL Bundesliga. Our Red Bulls' great efforts in the second half made the dramatic triumph well deserved.

Match summary

We made a perfect start, with Andreas Ulmer as reliable as ever on his 400th Austrian Bundesliga appearance. The ball was fed into his left channel and the captain had no problem in picking out Nici Seiwald with a pinpoint ball across (4'). The local lad who is leaving for Leipzig this summer pounced to turn in at the near post.

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Rapid responded well to our strong opening, taking the game to us but chances at either end were at a premium. We waited over 30 minutes for another shot, when Lucas Gourna-Douath got into a threatening position from a Seiwald free-kick. Instead of doubling our lead, the hosts were able to equalise virtually on the stroke of half-time. Amar Dedic was bundled over on our left, but Rapid were allowed to continue and Bernhard Zimmermann snapped a cross in to level for 1-1 (44'). Despite a VAR check, the goal was surprisingly allowed to stand. We knew we had to raise our game in the second period - despite being without the services of Luka Sucic, who had to come off at the end of the first half due to injury.

The hosts were unambitious after the restart, but despite our best efforts, we weren't able to set things alight either on a cold day in a capital. A quiet phase ensued at the Allianz Stadion, with Oumar Solet & Co having to dig deep at times to keep us level. We sensed an opportunity when another VAR check was made for a possible red card for the Green and Whites due to a dangerous foul on Gourna-Douath - albeit only a yellow was shown (69'). We would have to rely on our talents to make the breakthrough, and didn't they do that! After Köhn had pulled off two point-blank saves, super sub Benjamin Sesko went and stole the show! The Slovenian striker made it 2-1 after a deadly quick move featuring Kjaegaard and Koita (80'), before a beautiful one-two with Gloukh led to it being 3-1 (84') and a stunning third strike served up a superb hat-trick (87')! Guido Burgstaller's consolation in the fifth minute of stoppage time could not change the result - and we head home from the Austrian capital as deserved winners.

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It was a wonderful day, in the end, and that really pleases me! Providing an assist in my 400th appearance was nice. We were able to switch up a gear in the second half and kept hold of our lead really well. I need a lot more matches to make it 500, but it's definitely a nice aim to have!

Andreas Ulmer

I can't score any goals, but I try to contribute in my own way. The save was fantastic, of course, but those moments are down to intuition, as they are so fast. Everything went well, and I just threw everything into it. The boys did a really good job going forward too though!

Philipp Köhn