Women stay up despite 5-0 defeat at Wolfsburg

Head coach Achim Feifel made one change to his starting eleven in the 3-1 derby win against FC Köln: Barbara Reger replaced the injured Milena Nikolic.

The hosts had the first chance of the game: Svenja Huth hit a powerful shot at Anna Klink’s goal but the post prevented Bayer 04 going behind early on (9’). However, the ball was in the back of the Leverkusen net seven minutes later: The Bayer 04 defence initially succeeding in clearing from a VfL free kick but Zsanett Jakabfi found the top left corner from the clearance (16’). The Wolves remained on top and doubled their lead a few minutes later: Alexandra Popp broke through into the box and put the ball past Klink (20’). The Werkself Women tried to pose a threat to the VfL net with counter-attacks but were unable to find a way through the opposition defence. Just before the half-time break, Popp put Rolfö through and she struck to give Wolfsburg a 3-0 lead at half-time (40’).

“We did well in challenges overall. If we had defended the free kick better then we could have kept a clean sheet for longer. Wolfsburg then deservedly went 3-0 up thanks to their individual class,” said Feifel in summing up the first half.

Bayer 04 braver, Wolfsburg clinical

After the restart, Pernille Harder tested Klink with a powerful shot but the Bayer 04 keeper produced an excellent reflex save and turned the ball away (54’). The Black and Reds were somewhat braver and looked to create chances after winning possession but they were unable to pose a serious threat. Instead, VfL went 4-0 up through Ingrid Engen from a cross from a free kick (66’). The match faded and the tempo relaxed. However, the team from Lower Saxony remained clinical – Harder was through in a one-on-one with Klink from a diagonal ball and she made it 5-0 (78’).

“After the exertions of recent weeks, my team put on a decent performance against a superior opponent in spite of the result. We defended higher up the pitch in the second half and won more challenges because of that,” said Feifel.

Top-flight status secured

Both teams were able to celebrate after the final whistle: While the hosts were presented with the championship trophy, the Werkself Women were able enjoy the moment of securing their place in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga. In spite of the defeat and wins for MSV Duisburg (2-0 against Jena) and FC Köln (1-0 against Sand) in the other games, Bayer 04 end the season in tenth place on 17 points with 22 goals scored and 51 conceded. Level on points, FC Köln (22-60 goals) and Jena are relegated to the second division.

“We wanted to ensure staying up much earlier in the season. We aimed to finish eighth this season. Nevertheless, I’m happy we’re playing in the FLYERALARM Women’s Bundesliga next season. In the next few weeks, we’ll review and analyse the season,” said the head coach.

Match stats:
VfL Wolfsburg: Lindahl – Blässe, Doorsoun, Maritz, Neto – Wolter (Engen 57’), Popp (Minde 57’), Jakabfi, Huth (Harder 46’) – Rolfö (Rauch 68’), Janssen (Goeßling 68’)
Bayer 04: Klink – Vinken (Prinz 89’), Barth, Wirtz, Jessen – Wich, Csiszar, Zeller (Kerschowski 70’), Reger, Uebach (Rackow 73’), Rudelic (Sahlmann 89’)
Goals: 1-0 Jakabfi (16’), 2-0 Popp (20’), 3-0 Rolfö (40’), 4-0 Engen (66’), 5-0 Harder (78’)
Booked: - / Zeller
Referee: Anna-Lena Heidenreich (Sereetz)