Hapoel Tel Aviv stormed to the top of Group C with a 5-1 win over Rapid Vienna.

Israelis move to the top of Group C

Hapoel Tel Aviv stormed to the top of Group C in the Europa League with a comprehensive 5-1 win over Rapid Vienna. The hosts had a battle on their hands in a well-contested first half but added four goals without reply after the break to bank the points at the Bloomfield Stadium. When, under pressure from Itay Shechter, defender Andreas Dober beat his own goalkeeper Helge Payer with an attempted clearance from 12 yards to put Hapoel 1-0 up just before the half-hour. The lead lasted barely two minutes, Rapid replying when Stefan Hoffmann scoring with a neat shot. Hapoel took control after the break and had their reward in the 54th minute when Zurab Menteshashvili's unerring left-footed shot from the edge of the area beat Payer. The Israelis had to wait only another five minutes to go further in front, Shechter on target with a right-foot shot into the bottom corner from just outside the area. Gil Vermouth then provided a smooth finish, right-footed from inside the penalty area in the 70th minute. And just before the final whistle, substitute Maaran Lala made it 5-1 from close range.