Kehrer’s late strike seals Women’s home victory over HSV

Three days after the 4-2 win away at FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Pätzold made two changes to the starting XI. Loreen Bender and Kögel, who deputised for Friederike Repohl as captain, came in for Paulina Bartz and Valentina Mädl. Carlotta Wamser, Juliette Vidal and Ruby Grant weren’t in the squad due to knocks. Jana Lindner from the U23s was part of the squad, as she was in the 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Kögel opens on the volley

The Werkself were in the driving seat from the off, but promising openings were at a premium at first. Bayer 04 keeper Anne Moll was called into action after nine minutes when she kept out an effort from distance, but the hosts struck when Selina Ostermeier’s long cross found the unmarked Kögel, who beat HSV keeper Inga Schuldt on the volley to score her first goal of the season (14’). Ten minutes later, Sofie Zdebel placed a shot too close to Schuldt.

Boosted by their lead, Bayer 04 let the ball do the work but were rarely dangerous up front. Apart from Julia Mickenhagen’s cross that almost found the net via Hamburg defender Nina Räcke (39’) and a dangerous Kögel cross intercepted by Schuldt (40’), there were no chances and the Black and Reds went in one up at half-time.

Mädl replaces Bender

Bayer 04 could have doubled the lead after the restart, but Vanessa Fudalla’s powerful shot from the edge of the box hit the bar (49’). Pätzold reacted after about an hour, with Mädl replacing Bender. The Austrian striker soon saw a header from an Estrella Merino Gonzalez cross saved (65’). The game was uneventful until the leveller came out of the blue when Annaleen Böhler set up Sophie Hillebrand after the Werkself lost the ball (70’).

Pätzold made a double substitution now, with Claudia Wenger and former Hamburg player Bartz coming on for Melissa Friedrich and Kögel (78’). Opportunities came at both ends, with Christin Meyer missing a chance for the visitors (88’). Bartz almost charged down an attempted block in Hamburg’s box into the net (90’+1). Kehrer then scored the match-winner five minutes into the frantic added time, when HSV failed to clear a powerful Merino Gonzalez drive, with the forward on hand to mop up and round off the final 2-1 scoreline.

Coming up: Monday night in Freiburg

Bayer 04 Women will be back in action in five days when they travel to face SC Freiburg on Matchday 10. The match kicks off on Monday 10 November at 18:00 CET. Six days later, the Werkself encounter HSV again in the DFB Cup round of 16 at the Volksparkstadion on Sunday 16 November (kick-off: 15:00 CET) before the next home match against SGS Essen on Saturday 22 November (14:00 CET).

Match stats:

Bayer 04: Moll - Merino Gonzalez, Ostermeier, Friedrich (Wenger 79’), Mickenhagen - Zdebel (Daedelow 87’), Piljic - Bender (Mädl 62’), Kögel (Bartz 79’) - Kehrer, Fudalla

Hamburger SV: Schuldt - Wucher (Meyer 57’), Räcke, Stoldt, Schulz, Eggert - Mikolajova (Hirche 46’), Machtens (Böhler 57’), Büchele, Wrede (Hillebrand 46’) - Brunnthaler (Krüger 72’)

Goals: 1-0 Kögel (14’), 1-1 Hillebrand (70’), 2-1 Kehrer (90’+5)

Yellow cards: Mikolajova, Brancao (Hamburger SV coach), Krüger

Referee: Lara Wolf (Sengwarden)

Attendance: 776 at the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion