Werder Bremen advance to UEFA Cup final in Istanbul!

First Team
Thursday, 07.05.2009 / 23:29

Werder Bremen have advanced to the UEFA Cup final on 20 May in Istanbul and will face FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Thomas Schaaf's team won a dramatic and highly exciting match in Hamburg 3-2...

Werder Bremen have advanced to the UEFA Cup final on 20 May in Istanbul and will face FC Shakhtar Donetsk. Thomas Schaaf's team won a dramatic and highly exciting match in Hamburg 3-2, moving on after a 1-0 loss last week at Weserstadion. Bremen and Hamburg were tied 3-3 on aggregate but Werder advanced on away goals. The victory did have a sour note as Diego and Hugo Almeida both are suspended for the final after receiving their third yellow cards in the competition.

 

Coach Thomas Schaaf changed four positions in his line-up with Clemens Fritz replacing Sebastian Prödl at rightback while Diego, Torsten Frings and Mesut Özil took over for Peter Niemeyer, Jurica Vranjes and Alexandros Tziolis.

 

The 51,000 spectators at the sold-out HSH Nordbank Arena saw an exciting and intensive match right from the beginning with Werder gaining a slight early advantage with more ball possession. Schaaf's men had the first chance of the game in the 12th minute as Sebastian Boenisch sent a fine cross from the right side but Claudio Pizarro's header from five yards went just over the Hamburg goal. The hosts jumped ahead just 60 seconds later. Joris Mathijsen won a ball in the midfield and pushed forward before passing onto Ivica Olic, who beat Bremen keeper Tim Wiese from short distance.

 

Werder answered in the 29th minute. Diego passed from the midfield to Pizarro, who returned the favour and the Brazilian looped the ball over the charging Hamburg keeper Frank Rost and into the net for the equaliser. Eight minutes later, Diego was unlucky as his fine strike blasted off the crossbar while Wiese did an excellent job stopping Marcell Jansen on a counter-attack a minute thereafter. Six minutes before the break, Diego was shown his third yellow card of the competition after a dispute with Alex Silva and will miss the final.

 

The match remained very exciting in the second half as well with both teams putting up a strong fight and the game going back and forth. In the 66th minute, Pizarro snatched the ball behind the midline and then unleashed a strike from 25 yards which landed in the lower right corner for a 2-1 Bremen lead. Frank Baumann headed home a corner in the 83rd minute for a comfortable 3-1 advantage. But Olic made things exciting once again with his header three minutes from time. Hamburg pushed forward in the waning seconds looking for the equaliser. But Thomas Schaaf's team preserved the deserved victory to reach the final. Unfortunately, Hugo Almeida saw his third yellow card of the competition in injury time, meaning the Portuguese striker, like Diego, will miss the final.

 

The game at a glance:

 

Hamburg:

Rost - Jansen (77' Aogo), Gravgaard, Mathijsen, Demel (63' Boateng) - Jarolim, Alex Silva (72' Benjamin), Trochowski - Pitroipa, Petric, Olic; auf der Bank: Hesl, Atouba, Rincon, Torun

 

Werder Bremen:

Wiese - Boenisch, Naldo, Mertesacker (53' Prödl), Fritz - Baumann, Frings, Özil, Diego - Rosenberg (62' Hugo Almeida), Pizarro (90' Niemeyer); Mielitz, Tošić, Tziolis, Harnik

 

Goals: 1-0 Olic (13'), 1-1 Diego (29'), 1-2 Pizarro (66'), 1-3 Baumann (83'), 2-3 Olic (87')

 

Yellow cards: Alex Silva, Jarolim - Diego, Naldo, Hugo Almeida

 

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

 

HSH Nordbank Arena: 51,000 spectators

 

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