"I was satisfied with our overall performance. We could definitely have scored one our two more goals but we didn't miss as many chances as we did in the other friendlies," said head coach Heiko Herrlich after the game that he sees as part of mid-season break. "And one or two players used the friendly well to show they want to get back in the team."
The boss gave the players involved in Saturday's 4-1 in the Bundesliga away to TSG Hoffenheim two days off. Today saw the start of the build-up to the next challenge for the Werkself in Sunday's home fixture against Mainz 05 (28 January 15.30 CET): While the coaching staff held a light training session for the starting eleven from the Hoffenheim game, the rest of the squad lined up against the Regional League outfit from Oberhausen at the neighbouring Ulrich Haberland Stadium. "Nothing in training has the same intensity as a match over 90 minutes. And playing against 'real' opponents is completely different from eleven a side in training or other drills," said Herrlich after the fourth friendly in January before adding: "All 20 outfield players have now had the chance to play three full games over the past three weeks. The running and workmate against Hoffenheim shows we've done the right thing."
MATCH PRACTICE FOR U19s
From the kick-off, the Herrlich team captained by Stefan Kießling looked like they were in a somewhat more intensive training session as they pressed Oberhausen. Dominik Kohr produced the reward for the attacking approach of the Black and Reds when he netted from close range on 11 minutes after Stefan Kießling headed on a cross from U19 player Jakub Bednarczyk. On the half-hour Mark, Karim Bellarabi rounded off a great solo run with a well-placed low drive into the back of the net to double the lead. There were no more goals before half-time.
The seventh-placed team from the Regional League West, who resume their league campaign in the middle of February, shuffled the pack at the break and they succeeded in creating a number of chances after the restart. Apart from the consolation strike from substitute Rafael Garcia making it 2-1 on 81 minutes, the visitors were unable to convert any other chances in front of 350 supporters. In the closing stages, the U19 player Güven Yalcin came off the bench to round off the scoring at 3-1 on 89 minutes. nn mit dem 3:1 für die Werkself letztlich den Deckel drauf (89.). "It's clear you can never reach the same intensity in a friendly as you can in the Bundesliga. But we see it as a step-up on training, said Herrlich.
In addition to goalscorer Yalcin, the head coach also gave Bayer 04 U19 players Sam Schreck, Marius Samoura und Atakan Akkaynak time on the pitch. He was unable to call on Vladen Yurchenko as he is still recovering from a foot injury. Marlon Frey was also sidelined due to a stomach problem.
Bayer 04: Özcan – Kuba, Jedvaj, Retsos, Henrichs – Bellarabi, Kohr (79. Samoura 79'), Havertz (Schreck 71'), Mehmedi (Akkaynak 84') – Kießling, Pohjanpalo (Yalcin 84')
“Year after year, this is an incredibly valuable gathering, both in terms of the content covered and the opportunity for mutual discussion,” stressed Bayer 04 goalkeeping coach David Thiel in his welcoming address at this year’s goalkeeping coaches’ meeting. This was the third time in four seasons that the event had been held at the BayArena. Organised by the German Football Association (DFB), the meeting brought together goalkeeping coaches from the Bundesliga, Bundesliga 2 and the 3rd division from the west region. For the first time this year, goalkeeping coaches from the youth performance centres (NLZ) were also present. Bayer 04 fitness coach Markus Müller provided fascinating insights into the specific fitness training carried out with the Werkself’s goalkeepers.
Show more
It was another incredibly close call in the end: The second showdown in the 2026/27 VBL Club Championship saw the #B04eSports team once again narrowly miss out on a place in the top 16 of the preliminary round – and with it, a spot in the in-person knockout stage. It was a bitter blow: Marc and Sean Landwehr again fell just short, despite being level on points with their rivals. As was the case last month, their weaker record across the twelve individual matches in the six preliminary round fixtures proved decisive.
Show more
“They stuck with us over the past few weeks when things weren’t going so well,” said captain Edmond Tapsoba, thanking the fans for their support after the 2–1 win in Cologne and dedicating the derby victory to them. Throughout the 90 minutes, the Werkself had looked unfazed and in command, inflicting the first home defeat of the season on FC Köln. It was the sixth consecutive win against the Cologne team for Bayer 04 – head coach Carles Martínez, on the other hand, was facing the team from the neighbouring city for the first time and “now really knows what this derby win means”. The Werkself derby review.
Show more
Following the 2–1 derby victory away at FC Köln on Bundesliga matchday 9, Edmond Tapsoba, Malik Tillman and Aleix Garcia spoke to Werkself TV...
Show more
Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 2-1 derby win at 1. FC Köln Matchday 9 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
Show more
