“All in all, the performance was good for the opening fixture,” said the coach Jan Hoepner after the home win on Saturday. In a well-organsied display in first half, the U17s controlled the game against Bielefeld with three of the five new signings in the starting line-up and they created plenty of chances before opening the scoring.
Cem-Tuna Türkmen missed out unmarked in front of the opposition goal and Fabian Rüth also failed to find the back of the Bielefeld net with a header from a promising position. New signing Wolf was on target just before the break. He hit a free kick from the right towards the far post. The ball bounced once before going in to give the Werkself a deserved 1-0 lead.
Decider from a corner
The U17s had more of the game in the second half too, “but there weren’t so may clear-cut chances,” admitted the coach Patrick Weiser. The hosts did succeed in settling the result with time to spare.
A corner from Wolf was only half cleared by the visitors. Fesenmeyer, in the right spot on the edge of the box, trapped the ball before unleashing his effort on goal with the Bielefeld keeper was left helpless by a deflection.
Wednesday at Schalke 04
After the successful start to the season the U17s are in action again on Wednesday in the big match away to Schalke 04. The Royal Blues youngsters won their opening fixture 2-1 at VfL Bochum.
Match stats:
Bayer 04 U17: Lotka - Rüth, Türkmen (Gierseifer 50’), Azhil, Wolf, Kemper, Bukusu, Anapak, Scott (Determann 71’), Gädicke (Ekene 71’), Fesenmeyer (Hortian 78’).
Arminia Bielefeld U17: Mönig - Mika, Tchadjobo (Aydin 78’), Haßheider, Stoll, Klass, Dogan (Ben El Ouahmi 41’), Donsbruch, Kalac (Temin 64’), Ayyildiz, Borchert (Bairamov 41’).
Goals: 1-0 Wolf (39’), 2-0 Fesenmeyer (59.’.
Booked: Wolf- /.
Referee: Aarts (Goch).
Attendance: 261.
This special event showed once again how strong Bayer 04 are as a team: As part of ‘BarmeniaGothaer gives joy’, the Werkself players Edmond Tapsoba, Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane supported the sale of individually designed T-shirts for a good cause at the Fanwelt on Thursday. Several hundred fans came to take part in the charity campaign. Leverkusen's main sponsor BarmeniaGothaer donated the proceeds to the Fondation Edmond Tapsoba, which helps people in Tapsoba's home country of Burkina Faso in their challenging everyday lives.
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From Ouagadougou to Leverkusen – and back: in March, Bayer 04 travelled with Edmond Tapsoba for a special project in his homeland Burkina Faso. The country where his roots and heart lie. The country where he’s more than a world-class defender: a symbol of hope and a role model for an entire generation. The result is a 45-minute documentary about Tapsoba’s long journey from Africa via Portugal to Leverkusen, which offers extraordinary, one-off and emotional insights.
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