"It was a mega event for all involved, credit for the atmosphere, which was magnificent for 97 minutes," said Pätzold afterwards. "We really struggled in the first half. Bremen worked very hard to stop us from playing, meaning we hardly got into the final third. It was a very intensive game, we pressed high and wanted to stress the opponents, which consumed a lot of energy." He was more pleased with the second-half display: "We changed things around a bit, wanted to get forward more bravely and were rewarded with the goal. After that, there were some counter-attacking situations we should've used better. With the fans behind them, Werder then pushed and we had to withstand a lot. When you look at the chances for each team, the point is fair in the end, we remain unbeaten."
In the only change from the 1-0 win at home to FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Pätzold swapped the injured Synne Skinnes Hansen for Juliette Vidal in the starting line-up. To mark the club's 120th anniversary, the Werkself wore special black kits with red collars.
With a healthy crowd of 22,721 at the Weserstadion, it was one of the four ex-Leverkusen players in the squad, Caroline Siems, who fired the first warning shot after two minutes, but it was an easy save for Friederike Repohl. After an energetic start from the hosts, who were lifted by the big crowd, Leverkusen gradually gained more of a foothold in the game from the quarter-hour mark.
And it was the Werkself who created the best opportunity of the game up to that point: after a move down the right through Karolina Lea Vilhjalmsdottir, Kehrer squared the ball to Cornelia Kramer, whose first-time attempt sailed over the target (23'). Genuine chances remained in short supply in a hard-fought contest, with neither side offering each other much space. As a result, the first half ended goalless.
Pätzold made the first change at the break, with Ida Daedelow replacing Sofie Zdebel in central midfield for her Bundesliga debut. The first incident in the second period was actually a collision between Kristin Kögel and Michaela Brandenburg, which left the Leverkusen midfielder on the ground. Kögel was given a bandage and was able to continue. It remained a scrappy contest, with the high volume of duels in midfield preventing longer passages of play.
Shortly before the hour mark, Janou Levels threatened with a curling effort but the full-back narrowly missed the target. Three minutes later, Katharina Piljic fired just over from distance. The resulting goal kick then landed somewhat fortunately with Kehrer, who went for goal directly. Via a deflection from ex-Werkself player Juliane Wirtz, the ball went past goalkeeper Livia Peng and into the net (62').
Pätzold brought on Estrella Merino Gonzalez for Vilhjalmsdottir for the final 20 minutes. In the 75th minute, Repohl was equal to a shot from Werder striker Larissa Mühlhaus. Shortly afer that, the same player rattled the outside of the post from a tight angle (79'). Another substitution from Bayer 04 followed, Vanessa Haim replacing goalscorer Kehrer. In the closing stages, the visitors defended valiantly as Bremen poured forward, but from a corner the ball fell to Weidauer, who thrashed it into the net for a late equaliser (90').
Bayer 04 Women are back in Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga action on Sunday 20 October with a top-of-the-table clash against champions FC Bayern Munich. Kick-off at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion is at 18:30 CEST. Tickets are on general sale HERE.
Match stats:
SV Werder Bremen: Peng - Brandenburg (Schmidt 65'), Ulbrich, Nehmeth (Sternad 85'), Siems - Mahmoud, Wirtz (Dieckmann 76'), Walkling (Papai 69'), Wichmann (Arfaoui 65') - Weidauer, Mühlhaus
Bayer 04: Repohl - Levels, Ostermeier, Turanyi, Vidal - Zdebel (Daedelow 46'), Piljic - Vilhjalmsdottir (Merino Gonzalez 69'), Kögel (Bragstad 90'+3) - Kramer, Kehrer (Haim 80')
Goals: 0-1 Kehrer (62'), 1-1 Weidauer (90')
Yellow cards: Wirtz, Schmidt / Turanyi, Vidal, Kehrer, Daedelow
Referee: Fabienne Michel (Mainz)
Attendance: 22,721 at the Weserstadion
Intercultural exchange: a youth team from Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso, visited Leverkusen in the last few days. The players and staff from AD DUHA FC enjoyed a varied programme including training, a friendly - and a very special experience on Saturday afternoon.
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