An "Old Friend" ruined Werder Bremens start in the Efes-Cup in Antalya. Three Ailton goals were enough to beat Bremen 3:2 (0:0) and put Besiktas through to the final.
An "Old Friend" ruined Werder Bremens start in the Efes-Cup in Antalya. Three Ailton goals were enough to beat Bremen 3:2 (0:0) and put Besiktas through to the final.
An "Old Friend" ruined Werder Bremens start in the Efes-Cup in Antalya. Three Ailton goals were enough to beat Bremen 3:2 (0:0) and put Besiktas through to the final. After a goalless first half, Ailton gave the Turkish side the lead in the 54th minute before Ivan Klasnic drew the sides level two minutes later. The "Kugelblitz" found the target twice more (71', 76') to put the game beyond Werder. Miroslav Klose shortened the deficit in the 86th minute but by then it was too little too late.
Ailton, who returned to Turkey two days ago after transfare rumours during the winter break, surprisingly found himself in the starting eleven. For Werder, Jelle van Damme returned after a long break through injury. After a quiet start in front of 5,000 at the Atatürk-Stadium, Werder created the first opening with Miro Klose being stopped by Besiktas keeper Murat Sahin (11'), and then defender Avci cleared a Klasnic header off the goalline (13'). Klasnic tried his luck again from distance but Sahin was on his mark (16').
Werder the better team in a poor first half
Three good chances, three times no goals. Werder were in control of the game but failed to create openings although the Besiktas keeper Sahin was the best man in the Turkish side in the first half, snatching every Werder effort. At the other end, Besiktas fell too often foul to the offside trap. Naldo put a header from a Micoud corner over the crossbar on the half-hour and the rest of the first half proceedings then took place in the centre of the park. Ailton got his first touch in the 42nd minute and almost put the Turks ahead two minutes later when he beat Andreas Reinke with his shot but captain Frank Baumann had gotten back to clear the situation.
The Istanbul side started the second half brightly and could have gone ahead in the 48th minute through Cagdas. The eventual lead came six minutes later through Ailton. The ex-Werder striker got on the end of a through ball and slipped a shot past Reinke into the left hand corner. Werder had an immediate answer. Daniel Jensen, who came on for Baumann, picked out Klasnic with a pass and the Croatian drove his shot low past the keeper (56'). Werder were far less threatening than in the first half and showed signs of nervousness at the back.
Besiktas capitalise on Fahrenhorst slip-up
Werder had two more chances but Klose was unable to direct his headed effort on goal and Fahrenhorst could only clash with Sahin after a Jensen cross. At the other end Ailton was able to find room to manouver and was beginning to look dangerous. From a long ball, Fahrenhorst slipped and missed his interception, the ball fell straight to the feet of the wirey Brazilian who shot his side back into the lead (71').
The 32 year old striker was at it again five minutes later as he broke free, rounded Reinke and slid the ball home as he so often did in his Bundesliga days. The tie was now beyond Bremen, despite Klose reducing the deficit in the 86th minute. The Bundesliga top scorer showed what he can do as he collected a long pass from Jensen and danced around the keeper to make the final score 2:3.
The defeat means Werder will play for third place on Sunday, 08.01.2006 at 7pm in Antalya. The game will be shown live on Eurosport with the opponent to be the loser of the Borussia Dortmund versus Galatasary game.
Johnnie Muldoon
Besiktas Istanbul – Werder Bremen 3:2 (0:0)
Besiktas Istanbul: Sahin - Tandogan, Avci, Atan, Sedef - Kleberson, Buruk, Uzulmez, Metin - Ailton, Dursun, Sahin – Günes, Yalcin, Veysel
Werder Bremen: Reinke – Owomoyela, Fahrenhorst, Naldo, van Damme – Baumann (46. D. Jensen), Frings, Vranjes, Micoud – Klose, Klasnic
Goals: 1:0 (54.) Ailton, 1:1 (56.) Klasnic, 2:1 (71.) Ailton, 3:1 (76.) Ailton, 3:2 (86.) Klose
Referee: Kamil Abitoglu (Türkei)
Attendance: Atatürk-Stadion Antalya: 5.000 Zuschauer
