Bayer 04 made four changes to the starting eleven from the 3-0 win against Dutch top-flight side PEC Zwolle for the second friendly of the preseason. Head coach Achim Feifel opted to put four new signings in the starting line-up: Friederike Abt in goal plus Lisanne Gräwe, Amira Arfaoui and Irina Pando. But his team conceded after two minutes. Hoffenheim’s Petra Kocsan scored from a free kick from the inside left position.
The best chance for the Black and Reds fell to Milena Nikolic just before half-time: The centre-forward was put through by new signing Pando but her shot from close range went over the bar (45+1’). The scoreline remained 1-0 at the break.
At the start of the second 45 – as before the half-time whistle from referee Franziska Hilger – there were changes on both sides. The Hoffenheim scorer of the second goal, Isabella Hartwig, came off the bench. She beat the substitute Bayer 04 keeper Anna Klink with a long-range shot from 20 metres out on 68 minutes.
Henrike Sahlmann, who has played for Leverkusen for four years, said after the game against last season’s third-placed team in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga: “We played against a very good opponent so it was a good test for us for the new season,” said the 24-year-old. “We improved over the course of the game and were well organised in defence in the second half.” But Sahlmann believes there is room for improvement in converting chances as she said with a wink of the eye: “Hopefully, we’re saving that for the league.”
The five-day training camp for the Bayer 04 Women at Wiesensee ends tomorrow. The Feifel team ahead of the league opener at newly-promoted FC Carl Zeiss Jena (29 August). VfL Wolfsburg are the opposition on Friday 20 August. The kick-off in the motor city is at 15.30 CEST.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Abt – Wieder, Turanyi, Wirtz, Marti – Gräwe, Kögel – Arfaoui, Zeller, Pando – Nikolic
TSG Hoffenheim: Tufekovic – Wienroither, Specht, Feldkamp – Brand, Harsch, Hagel, Kocsan – Corley, Billa – de Caigny
Goals: 0-1 Kocsan (2’), 0-2 Hartwig (68’)
Referee: Franziska Hilger
Tickets for the first two Bayer 04 women’s team home games are now on general sale. A week after their league opener away at RB Leipzig, Roberto Pätzold’s side will face last season’s runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, in the first home fixture on Sunday 30 August (kick-off: 16:00 CEST). Fifteen days later, on Monday night, 14 September (kick-off: 18:00 CEST), the Leverkusen Women host German champions Bayern Munich at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium for a top-of-the-table league clash. You can now also select specific seats via the online shop. The latest information on match ticket sales.
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