The Bayer 04 coaching duo of Markus von Ahlen and Iraklis Metaxas fielded several players in the starting eleven who do not normally feature but, nevertheless, the visitors from Leverkusen quickly took control in front of a reasonable crowd at the Hürther Sportpark.
In the very first attack, Jakub Bednarczyk broke down the left and found Atakan Akkaynak at the far post and he netted to open the scoring on three minutes. The lively Bednarczyk extended the lead to 3-0 with goals on 22 and 30 minutes setting the Werkself clearly on course for the semi-finals.
Clear advantage at half-time
Hürth pulled a goal back from the penalty spot on 34 minutes to make it 3-1. Bednarczyk then completed his hat-trick on 37 minutes and Dominik Bilogrevic, in his first start, completed the scoring in the first half on 45 minutes to give Bayer 04 a clear lead at 5-1.
Even after three changes for the start of the second half it was clear the U19s did not want to ease off and Ricardo Grym quickly added a sixth goal on 49 minutes. The visitors went on to create a lot of good goalscoring opportunities, "but," as coach von Ahlen said, "the final touch was missing at times."
Semi-final against Köln
The U19s scored another two goals later on through Bilogrevic (77') and Dennis Mbay (82') to round off the scoring at 8-1. The Bayer 04 U19s now face neighbours FC Köln in a home game in the semi-finals.
"As we go into the final phase of the season it's still in our hands in the league and cup so we are obviously looking forward to this challenge against Köln," said von Ahlen. Before that, along with his fellow coach Metaxas, he has given the players time off up to and including Easter Sunday.
Break over Easter
With the exception the players called up to national teams, that is Tim Handwerker, Julijan Popovic and Güven Yalcin, the rest of the squad will have the opportunity to recover ahead of the final run-in of three league games and at least one cup appearance
Training starts again on Easter Monday ahead of the Bundesliga away game at FC Mönchengladbach on 22 April.
Match stats:
Bayer 04 U19: Prinz - Popovic, Nesseler, Rhein (Harenbrock 46’), Handwerker (Siebdrat 46’), Mbay, Shala, Bednarczyk (Schreck 46’), Grym, Akkaynak (Yalcin 66’), Bilogrevic.
Goals: 0-1 Akkaynak (3’), 0-2 Bednarczyk (22’), 0-3 Bednarczyk (30’), 1-3 Brech (34’ pen.), 1-4 Bednarczyk (37’), 1-5 Bilogrevic (45’), 1-6 Grym (49’), 1-7 Bilogrevic (77’), 1-8 Mbay (82’).
Referee: Menzel (Frechen).
NEXT U19 GAMES:
| Competition |
Opponent |
Venue | Date |
Kick-off |
| Bundesliga | Arminia Bielefeld | H | 22.04. | 13:00 |
| Bundesliga | FC Schalke 04 | A | 30.04. | 13:00 |
| Bundesliga | Viktoria Köln | H | 06.05. | 13:00 |
The European jersey has been launched, the UEL opponents have been drawn – and anticipation for the European campaign is running high. To mark the occasion, an autograph session was held on Friday afternoon, 28 August, at the Fanwelt with current Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and official club legend Paulo Sergio.
Show more
After six and a half years, Exequiel Palacios is leaving the Bundesliga and moving from Bayer 04 to the Premier League. The Argentine, who as a Werkself player won the World Cup with his national team four years ago and finished as runners-up at this summer’s tournament, will play for newly promoted English side Ipswich Town with immediate effect. The 27-year-old, whose contract in Leverkusen was due to run until 30 June 2030, joined Bayer 04 in January 2020 as a promising young talent. He steadily developed into one of the best defensive midfielders in the German top flight.
Show more
When Exequiel Palacios moved from the Argentinian club River Plate to Bayer Leverkusen on 1 January 2020, the then 21-year-old could not have imagined just how successful the next six and a half years would be for him. Pala, as he is known, had already won the Copa Libertadores – the most prestigious competition in South American club football – with River Plate. But there were still so many more trophies to come.
Show more
To mark Exequiel Palacios’s departure, we’ve put together a compilation of the midfielder’s finest and most important goals from his six-and-a-half years at the club.
Show more
