On a heavy pitch, Jülich take the lead on 17 minutes but going behind fails to upset the Black and Reds at all. Matthias Brücken scores the equaliser five minutes later when he deflects a shot from Helmut Röhrig into the Jülich net. On 30 minutes, coach Manfred Rummel replaces the forward Gerd Kentschke with a defensive midfield player and the Werkself control the game from that point.
In the second half, the pitch carefully tended by groundsman Gustav Schmitz, becomes a mud bath. Two battling teams produced a top match and although the surface made it difficult to shine there were chances for both sides to take the lead. Bayer 04 keeper Hubert Makel had a good day and did not concede in the second half. As the game went on, Bayer 04 kept forcing Jülich back into their own penalty area with the visitors only able to mount rare counter-attacks. At the end there is luck on Leverkusen’s side. On 77 minutes, a cross from Manfred Eickerling finds the head of the tireless Hans-Werner Marx and he surprises the visitors keeper Roland Gühsgen with a header that loops into the far corner. Ten minutes later, substitute Manfred Schumann seals the win. After great work by Helmut Röhrig, the centre forward found the back of the net and the gap of three points to the top of the table again makes the season interesting for the Werkself.
A week later, Bayer 04 were away to fellow promotion rivals SC Brühl. Coach Manfred Rummel fielded the team that finished the game against SC Jülich with Gerd Kentschke and Manfred Schumann also back on the pitch. The team started where they finished off: they gave their all and also played some impressive football on a good surface. Matthias Brücken beats an opponent on 17 minutes and sets up Manfred Schumann to make it 1-0. Then the former Bayer 04 player Horst Wielandt gives away two penalties that sweeper Willi Rehbach converts. The half-time score is 3-0. Brühl pull a goal back at 3-1 in the second half of the game that ends in a richly deserved win for the Werkself.
However, there are rumours in Brühl suggesting the outcome of the game had been manipulated by Leverkusen's football boss Hermann Büchel. Giving a calling card to a Brühl player is not to bribe him but instead is about a job at Bayer AG and Hermann Büchel, who is also employed in purchasing at the works, responds to a question from a journalist: "Why shouldn't I help him?" The only time money was on the agenda on that day was the remaining transfer fee for the former Bayer 04 player Horst Wielandt. Football boss Dr. Jürgen Schwericke called such accusations absurd: "We’re not a tinpot club. I wasn’t in Brühl but I firmly reject those allegations."
The Werkself are due to play two more games before the end of the year but the games fall victim to the weather leaving it tight at the top of the table:
There are more exciting games in 1975. The target of promotion to Bundesliga 2 North requires the Werkself to overcome more rivals than was expected before the start of the season. January certainly packs a punch with five games to play.
Thomas Hörster was born in Essen on 27 November 1956. As a child, he took part in high diving and judo, but was also passionate about football. After starting out at Blau-Weiß Holsterhausen-Essen, he moved on to ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen. As a U19 player, he trained with the senior side for the first time. And at just under 18 years of age, Thommy – as he is known – made his debut in Bundesliga 2. Over two-and-a-half seasons, he made 71 appearances for Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
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Bernd Dreher was born in Leverkusen on 2 November 1966 and he began playing football at SV Schlebusch at the age of five. At the age of nine, he joined the youth academy at Bayer 04. There, the goalkeeper progressed through all the youth teams and, with the U19s in 1985, he reached the final of the German Championship, that Bayer 04 lost 4-2 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Robson Ponte was born on 6 November 1976 in São Paulo. He began his football career in Brazil with CA Juventus. He then played for América FC and Guarani FC. In 1999, he joined Bayer 04. Robson initially played for the Werkself until 2001. He then moved to VfL Wolfsburg on a two-year loan. There, he continued to develop and gained valuable experience in the Bundesliga. In 2003, he returned to Leverkusen, where he particularly showcased his dribbling skills and his ability in attacking midfield. In total, he made 79 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored six goals.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of November. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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On Sunday, 4 November 1951, the first league derby between Bayer 04 and FC Köln took place. The FC Köln stadium in Müngersdorf was absolutely bursting at the seams for this clash. A veritable invasion of Bayer 04 fans from Leverkusen set off for Cologne by tram and bus. From midday onwards, in addition to the scheduled services, six extra tram services ran at the standard fare from Leverkusen Town Hall to the stadium in Cologne. At the same time, buses operated by Grein ran regularly from Wiesdorf market square to Cologne. In the end, over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans waved their black and red flags in the stands at the FC Köln stadium and got behind their team for ninety minutes.
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