“The win is very good for us. We showed morale in the end. But still, we need to defend better on the whole and still have room for improvement in many areas,” said de Pauw after the last-minute win over the team sitting third in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Bayer 04 started with goalkeeper Friederike Repohl behind Caroline Siems, Lilla Turányi, Melissa Friedrich, Selina Ostermeier and Skinnes Hansen. Kristin Kögel, captain Elisa Senß and Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir were in midfield, with Wieder and Nikola Karczewska up front.
Leverkusen started well and pushed the hosts back in their own half. A cross from Skinnes Hansen turned into a shot inside four minutes. At the other end, Repohl was called into action after around 10 minutes but was assured in her stop. However, there was nothing the 26-year-old could do when Charlotte Hulst was played through and finished with 16 minutes gone.
Leverkusen sought a quick response, and Siems often looked to run at pace up the left, but one of her shots went wide. Shortly after, goalkeeper Diede Lemey was forced into her best stop. The Werkself kept going as Skinnes Hansen miscued before Sittard doubled their advantage when Hulst again turned in from a low cross on 34 minutes. Bayer 04 finally hit their mark with an immediate reply as Skinnes Hansen worked her way into the box and fired in to bring it back to 2-1. Just three minutes later, the Norwegian found Wieder in the centre, who turned the ball beyond the hosts’ goalkeeper to level.
De Pauw’s side came out after the break with plenty of momentum. Turányi had a free header from a corner but put it over. Both teams then struggled to put together any meaningful attacks. With 65 minutes gone, the coach made five changes by introducing Emilie Bragstad, Sylwia Matysik, Sofie Zdebel, Cecilie Johansen and Paulina Bartz. However, it did little to change the flow of the game.
Five more players were brought on with a quarter of an hour to go in Sofia Cava Marin, Loreen Bender, Delice Boboy, Estrella Merino Gonzalez and Jorde. The hosts produced little going forward apart from an effort from range that Repohl repelled with two minutes to go. Two Bayer 04 subs then combined to snatch a winner as Boboy’s cross found Bartz, who teed up Jorde for a first-time finish and 3-2 victory.
Die Frauen resume their Bundesliga campaign next Friday with a trip to Werder Bremen for Matchday 11 (18.30 CET). That game officially marks the halfway point of the season before the second half commences with a home fixture against league leaders Wolfsburg on Sunday, 4 February (14:00). Tickets for the match at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion are available HERE.
Match stats:
Fortuna Sittard XI: Lemey - Moorrees, van Diemen, Knol, Antonsdóttir, Alieke, Hulst, van Heeswijk, Teulings, Wullaert, Delacauw
Bayer 04 XI: Repohl - Ostermeier, Friedrich, Senß, Karczewska, Skinnes Hansen, Kögel, Siems, Vilhjálmsdóttir, Turányi, Wieder.
Goals: 1-0 Hulst (16'), 2-0 Hulst (43'), 2-1 Skinnes Hansen (39'), 2-2 Wieder (43'), 2-3 Jorde (90')
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