The hosts tire after the hour mark and the team around midfielder Peter Surbach can finally get the upper hand. Manfred Schumann heads home the opening goal from a Hans-Werner Marx corner on 74 minutes. Manfred Vetter, who replaced Peter Litzinger on 66 minutes, makes it 2-0 with a powerful shot from 30 metres out six minutes later. And the former Frechen player Matthias Brücken seals the win on 88 minutes. At the end of the day, a convincing victory and a good start to 1975.
The Werkself are away to league leaders Bonner SC a week later. 5,000 spectators come to the big match at the Bonner Nord Park. Bayer 04 make an impressive start: The team under coach Manfred Rummel take the lead on 14 minutes with a shot from Peter Surbach from 16 metres out but the Bonner team responds aggressively. Urged on by their supporters, they besiege Hubert Makel's goal. But the hosts failed to score in Bayer 04 take the lead into half-time. It is the same story in the second half: on attack, Bayer 04 counter-attack skilfully. The referee is deceived by a dive from the former Bayer 04 youth player Karl Heinz Wöhler on 58 minutes. But Hubert Makel saves the penalty. But he his lucky a few minutes later when a shot hits the post but that does not hold on 72 minutes. A header against the bar bounces back onto his shoulder and into the net – 1-1. Gerd Kentschke has a big chance just before the final whistle but all in all it ends in a fair draw.
The Bayer team are away again on 19 January. This time at BC Oberbruch-Heinsberg. The rearranged game from matchday 13 is watched by only 700 spectators who see the Werkself play good passing football but without the final finish. Manfred Vetter open the scoring in the second half on 63 minutes but the hosts reply with more aggression and energy. Leverkusen clear off the line twice. The deserved equaliser for the Oberbruch team comes on 83 minutes. The Werkself take just one point from the game.
Another rearranged game in the middle of the week this time at home at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. 1,200 spectators want to watch the night match for the Werkself against SG Eschweiler but the floodlights don't have the same stimulating effect on the Bayer team as so often before. Manfred Vetter again opens the scoring on eight minutes with a fine long-range shot but nothing goes right after that. There is uncertainty and misunderstanding in a surprising way and Eschweiler get their chances on goal. The visitors press hard for the equaliser in the second half. But centre-forward Manfred Schumann makes it 2-0 from a corner. Nevertheless, the Bayer game is still unsettled. The whistles from the fans are justified as "the Black and Reds look out of ideas and helpless and that was the reason for a dour football match" (Stadt-Anzeiger dated 23.01.1975). Two points are one in the end. That's the only thing that counts in that game.
The Werkself have another home game four days later. This time Godesberger FV are the visitors in front of 1,500 spectators. Not much goes right in the first half despite an early goal scored by Matthias Brücken (6’). But Manfred Schumann (47') and Matthias Brücken (48’) score two quick goals after the restart and the Werkself are moving the ball much better. Again it is Manfred Schumann who finds the back of the net on 57 minutes to make it 4-0. Matthias Brücken with goals number 15 and 16 of the season and another strike from Klaus Röhrig increase the scoreline to 7-0. The Werkself are one point behind league leaders SC Jülich 10 in second place at the end of January.
Dieter Bast was born in Oberhausen on 28 August 1951. He began playing football in the youth team at DJK Arminia Klosterhardt, a local club in Oberhausen. Whilst training as a toolmaker, he moved to neighbouring club Sterkrade 06/07 to play for their U19s, where he caught the eye of Bundesliga sides Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Bast opted for Rot-Weiss and played in the Bundesliga from 1970 onwards. In his very first year, he made 22 appearances as a right winger, scoring three goals. Nevertheless, Essen were unable to avoid relegation.
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José Vítor Roque Júnior was born on 31 August 1976 in Santa Rita do Sapucaí, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. As a youth, he played for São José EC, a club in the east of the state of São Paulo. His professional career began in 1995 with Palmeiras São Paulo. There, Roque Júnior quickly established himself as a key player in the team, making more than 200 appearances and enjoying significant success. With the club, he won the Copa do Brasil in 1998 and the Copa Libertadores in 1999, the South American equivalent of the European Champions League.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of August. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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The Werkself play their first top-flight match in Bayer 04’s history away at Sportfreunde Katernberg. 7,000 spectators turn up at the Am Lindenbruch stadium in that district of Essen. The Katernbergers have transformed the once ‘barren’ pitch into a real gem. On this Sunday afternoon, 19 August 1951, the lush turf provides the perfect conditions for a good game of football.
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Following a thoroughly successful start with a 2–1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg, the Werkself are organising a team event. On Wednesdays, they head to the Nürburgring together and do a few laps at speed. Manager Klaus Toppmöller welcomes this initiative, as it promotes team spirit and integration. During weekly training sessions, the team works extensively on various defensive tactics, as the manager was dissatisfied with his players’ pressing in the final minutes of the match against the Wolves.
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