Women beat Freiburg 2-1 in second half of the season opener

“We had a couple of problems getting into the game at the start. We didn’t want to give Freiburg any time but instead we gave them too much in the build-up play,” said head coach Achim Feifel after the game. The hosts got back into the game after a couple of tactical changes. Dora Zeller broke through down the left in one-on-ones several times but was unable to find a teammate in the middle. Henrietta Csiszár made progress down the other flank to breach the Freiburg defence but her cross into middle was not converted. “They were good situations where we could have done better,” Feifel said.

Nikolic nets the opener

The deserved lead came on 36 minutes: Zeller again succeeded in breaking through down the wing. The unmarked Milena Nikolic received the pass and beat the Freiburg keeper Lena Nuding from ten yards out – 1-0. SC Freiburg did not succeed in creating any clear-cut chances in the first half not least thanks to Lilla Turanyi who made crucial challenges and runs to prevent dangerous situations in front of goal.

The second half was dominated by tactics. Both teams were well organised in defence. “We didn’t want to give Freinurg any chances up front,” explained the Bayer 04 coach. But a long ball over the top of the defence on right was enough to score. The Leverkusen defence lost the foot race and Freiburg put the ball in the box for Stefanie Sanders to score the equaliser. “At that moment, we just dozed off at the back,” Feifel said with some disappointment.

The Black and Reds reorganised, played two up front with the introduction of Ivana Rudelic and increased the pressure. They succeeded in dealing with long balls from the opponents and gained increasing control of the game by winning the ball and fast transition.

Zeller scores from set piece

Then Bayer 04 had a free kick on 61 minutes: Zeller, unmarked at the far post, found the ball at her feet and turned it into the net – the lead regained at 2-1. The Werkself Women defended their lead in the final 30 minutes and prevented Freiburg having any chances. Sylwia Matysik missed the opportunity to score just before the final whistle from a quick throw-in. And the final chance with substitute Verena Wieder caught offside in an attack did not change the result.

“We’ve had a really impressive season so far and it was important to get off to a good start in the second half of the season. They were important points today as Freiburg would have gone above us with a win. We’ve established a good cushion and we’ll feel good going into the next games after the winter break,” said a happy Feifel. His team have a break to 4 January before starting to train at home ahead of full training starting on 11 January.

Match stats:
Bayer 04: Klink – Kerschowski, Brüggemann, Turanyi, Sahlmann (Vinken 90+1’) – Wirtz, Csiszár, Kögel (Rudelic 61’), Matysik – Zeller (Wieder 85’), Nikolic
SC Freiburg: Nuding – Karl (Stegemann 46’), Steuerwald, Vojtekova, Knaak (Memeti 86’), Minge, Müller (Megroz 76’), Starke, Bürger, Kayikci, Sanders, Kraus
Goals: 1-0 Nikolic (36’), 1-1 Sanders (51’), 2-1 Zeller (61’)
Booked: - / Kayikci
Referee: Nadine Westerhoff (Bochum)