U19s coach Sergi Runge made three changes to the team that had started the weekend’s goalless draw away at Borussia Mönchengladbach as Ferdinand Pohl, Hawighorst and Artem Stepanov came in for Isaiah Eichie, Nils Gernhardt and Ken Izekor, who all dropped to the bench. After an initial spell of getting to grips with each other, the Dutch hosts started to up the pressure, including an attempted chip from the lively Givairo Read – regularly a part of Feyenoord’s senior squad – early on.
At the other end, Stepanov was caught narrowly offside from an Onyeka pass, while Karim Alajbegovic had the best chance of the opening quarter of an hour when denied from a tight angle. Hawighorst did better in the 22nd minute, though, when the left-back was found by Francesco Buono on the overlap before finishing into the far corner from left of centre. It was quick breaks and runs like those that posed the greatest issue to the Dutch side’s defence. Their best chance in the first half saw Jesper Schlich produce a save from Zepiqueno Redmond just before the break.
The hosts made a tactical switch at half-time with a centre-back on for a striker. However, the first opportunity after the restart fell to Leverkusen through Alajbegovic, before Onyeka went one better in the 63rd minute to turn in a corner and double the advantage with managing director for sport Simon Rolfes watching on from the stands. Feyenoord kept going, though, and got a goal back from Ouarghi, who picked out the corner with 11 minutes to go. The Dutch side pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing moments, but Bayer 04 held on for a deserved three points in Rotterdam.
Runge was unsurprisingly pleased with the result and also explained how the opening goal came about: “We want to play with a solid defence and expected Feyenoord to press us high. It meant we often had space behind their back line. We wanted to use that, like we did at the first goal.” The Spaniard also praised his team’s battling display: “We’re very pleased. The boys worked hard together, but that’s nothing new with them. They know they need each other and need to support each other. The mental strain was big for the boys because it’s all been a bit new. Now the pressure’s gone after this first game and we can enjoy the rest of the day and the senior team’s game. Tomorrow we’ll then turn to preparing for our next challenge at the weekend.”
Match stats:
Feyenoord: Ka - Read (Mparaganda 60'), Giersthove, Plug, Arnaud - Elshout Van Den, El Harmouz (Hoepel 74'), Ouarghi - Sliti (Otte 84'), Neijenhuis (Sebbar 46'), Redmond
Bayer 04: Schlich – Raterink, Pohl, Ndi, Hawighorst (Kister 60') - N. Mensah, Buono (Eichie 81') - Culbreath, Onyeka, Alajbegovic (Gernhardt 71') - Stepanov (Izekor 81')
Goals: 0-1 Hawighorst (22'), 0-2 Onyeka (63'), 1-2 Ouarghi (79')
Yellow cards: Sebbar, Ouarghi - Buono, Ndi, N. Mensah
Referee: Jamie Robinson (Northern Ireland)
Attendance: 1,050 at Varkenoord
A fresh look for the BayArena: The Bayer 04 stadium will have new seating in the form of folding seats for the 2026/27 campaign that will ensure significantly improved seating comfort and simplified movement within the rows of seats. As part of routine replacement after 17 years, fans of the Werkself were able to purchase the existing seats, used to witness the first German league title in the club's history. In addition, a large proportion of the seats will be donated to charitable projects, primarily in the local region. Bayer 04 fans can look forward to new, functional folding seats for the season opener at the beginning of August - still in the club colours of black and red, of course. A glimpse at the BayArena during the refurbishment.
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Werkself player Montrell Culbreath and Bayer 04 loanee Francis Onyeka are part of Germany's final squad for the U19 European Championships this summer. The tournament is in Wales from 24 June to 12 July.
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Bayer 04 are away to third-division club SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal. That was the outcome of the draw on Saturday night, 6 June, at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. The Werkself first round tie will be played between 21 and 24 August. The exact date has yet to be finalised.
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