3–1 win in Offenbach: A treat for the fans

It’s always nice having your best friends round for a birthday! Bayer 04 made a guest appearance at Stadion am Bieberer Berg as part of Offenbacher Kickers’ 125th anniversary celebrations, and nearly 1,500 Werkself supporters accepted the invitation to this historic venue, joining the Offenbach crowd in celebrating the more than 45-year friendship between the clubs. On the pitch, the Werkself secured a 3–1 victory in the friendly against the fourth-tier Regionalliga side. The Leverkusen goals were scored by Christian Kofane (38’), Jonas Hofmann (48’) and Afonso Moreira (81’). Keanu Staude had put the hosts ahead in the first half (11’).

As was the case in the 7–0 victory in Bay4r 04's first friendly against Oberliga side Sportfreunde Baumberg, head coach Carles Martínez fielded completely different line-ups in each half. In addition to the squad members still on vacation after the World Cup, the players still absent included Montrell Culbreath (holiday following the U19 European Championship), Martin Terrier (sports rehab), the injured Eliesse Ben Seghir and new signing Kennet Eichhorn (unfit following an illness). Instead, U19 players Jeremiah Mensah and Jonah Berghoff were given the opportunity to showcase their abilities in the first team. Bayer 04 took to the pitch in their new home kits for the first time, but were caught off guard by the hosts early on: Offenbach launched a swift counter-attack and Keanu Staude scored with his left foot, beating Janis Blaswich to give OFC the lead (11th minute).

headed equaliser from Kofane

The Kickers gave Leverkusen a real run for their money and initially kept the Bundesliga side at bay. The only chances for the Black and Reds in the first 20 minutes were a long-range shot from Aleix Garcia (10’) and a cross from Abdoulaye Faye – playing at left-back – from a tight angle, which OFC goalkeeper Brinkies cleared with his foot (15’). Loïc Badé also tried his luck from distance, forcing Brinkies into a smart save (30'). Following a cross from Faye – who subsequently had to be substituted after picking up an injury – Christian Kofane equalised for Leverkusen in the 38th minute with a well-placed downward header to make it 1–1 at half-time.

Bayer 04 had gradually found their rhythm after 25 minutes and built on that momentum straight after the break, Jonas Hofmann making it 2–1 (49’) following an assist from Victor Boniface. There were further chances for Edmond Tapsoba (57’), with a header that flew just wide, and Boniface (65’), whose shot was ultimately blocked. The lively Nigerian then combined with Hofmann in setting up Afonso Moreira to make it 3–1 (81’), the Portuguese player’s third goal in his second friendly. In the final minute, Niklas Lomb made a superb save to deny OFC a potential second goal from Maximilan Schmid.

up next: wednesday vs Genk, saturday vs Essen

Bayer 04's pre-season continues with two friendly matches on home turf at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion. On Wednesday 29 July, head coach Martínez’s team host Belgian top-flight side KRC Genk at 3 pm, followed by the match against Rot-Weiss Essen on Saturday 1 August (kick-off: 11 am). The Werkself then head to Blankenhain in the Weimarer Land region for a week-long training camp.

Match stats:

Kickers Offenbach: Brinkies – Marx (67. Crljenec), Frölich, Abdelhadi (90. Doganay), Marcos – Staude (67. Goselink), Krauße, Garic (71. Loune), El Ouali (75. Arh Cesen) – Becker (71. von Hagen), Wolfram (75. Schmid)

Bayer 04 1st half: Blaswich – Vázquez, Tape, Badé, Faye (40. Belocian) – Andrich, Garcia – Tella, J. Mensah, Alfa-Ruprecht – Kofane

Bayer 04 2nd half: Lomb – Arthur, Oermann, Tapsoba, Belocian – Berghoff, Fernández – Poku, Hofmann, Moreira – Boniface

Goals: 1-0 Staude (11.), 1-1 Kofane (38.), 1-2 Hofmann (48.), 1-3 Moreira (81’)

Referee: Maximiliam Prölss (Ober-Ramstadt)

Yellow cards: El Ouali, Frölich - Vázquez, Moreira

Attendance: 10,063 at Stadion am Bieberer Berg