How it happened
Petter Nosakhare Dahl decided this early. The midfielder scored after five minutes to put Rapid Wien ahead, then added a second in the 45+1 minute to send the home side in 2-0 up at the break.
Hartberg answered quickly after the restart. Magnus Dalpiaz scored in the 49th minute to make it 2-1 and reopen the contest.
Rapid then restored the two-goal margin. J. Horn scored in the 81st minute to complete the 3-1 result. Dahl was gone by then, having played 71 minutes. No red cards were shown.
The numbers
Hartberg had more of the shots, 14 to nine, and won the corners five to one. Rapid had more of the ball, with 54% possession, and the better chances. Their expected goals total was 1.4, against 0.56 for Hartberg. On target the sides were close, with five for Rapid and four for Hartberg.
Dahl's own expected goals came to 0.92, so he took close to two thirds of his side's total. He earned a match rating of 8.5, the highest on the pitch, from 37 touches. Matthias Seidl followed on 7.5, with 94 touches and one key pass over the full 90 minutes.
Dalpiaz, who rated 7.3, scored Hartberg's goal from an expected-goals value of 0.23. Niklas Hedl made three saves for Rapid and finished with a match rating of 6.6.
What it means
Rapid Wien are first in the Austrian Bundesliga with 24 points from nine matches, eight of them wins, and a goal difference of +18. Hartberg are sixth on 11 points, 13 behind the leaders.
Rapid's goals against column reads eight, the lowest of the two sides by 11. Hartberg's 19 conceded is a figure this result did little to improve.