Werder Bremen have qualified for the round of the last 16 in the UEFA Cup. In the return leg of the third round clash with Ajax Amsterdam, the Green-Whites crashed to a 3:1 defeat but progressed due to the 3:0 lead from the first leg.
Werder Bremen have qualified for the round of the last 16 in the UEFA Cup. In the return leg of the third round clash with Ajax Amsterdam, the Green-Whites crashed to a 3:1 defeat but progressed due to the 3:0 lead from the first leg.
Werder Bremen have qualified for the round of the last 16 in the UEFA Cup. In the return leg of the third round clash with Ajax Amsterdam, the Green-Whites crashed to a 3:1 defeat but progressed due to the 3:0 lead from the first leg. At the Amsterdam Arena, 37,000 spectators saw Leonardo (3’), Klaas Jan Huntelaar (60’) and Ryan Babel (74’) get on the score sheet for the home side with Hugo Almeida getting the vital goal for the visitors (13’). In the round of the last sixteen, Werder will face Celta Vigo, with the first leg in Spain on March 8th.
Trainer Thomas Schaaf made four changes to the team which was beaten at home by Hamburg SV at the weekend. Pierre Womé, who is suspended in the league, slotted back into the left back position instead of Christian Schulz. Clemens Fritz was forced out of the tie with muscular problems and was replaced by Petri Pasanen on the right side of defence. Tim Borowski returned to the starting line-up having recovered from a toe injury which meant Jurica Vranjes was demoted to the bench and up front Hugo Almeida joined Miroslav Klose in the attack, with Markus Rosenberg cup tied for the competition.
Leonardo with an early shock for Werder
The hosts were true to their word and started the game at an extremely high tempo. With only three minutes played, Wesley Sneijder brought a spectacular punched save from Tim Wiese with a powerfully driven shot from distance. Soon after though, the Werder keeper was picking the ball out of the back of his net. Per Mertesacker was at full stretch to clear a cross from the right but could only turn the ball to Leonardo who drove his shot low inside the left upright to give the home side a very early 1:0 lead (3’). Minutes later Babel tried his luck with a shot from the left but drove his effort well wide of the target.
Werder didn’t need all too long to recover from the shock of the early deficit and were quick to hit back. Firstly Hugo Almeida shot wide of Maarten Stekelenburg’s goal from 15 meters out (9’) but with his second attempt after 13 minutes the Portuguese international made it 1:1. Tim Borowski made a powerful burst down the right and foiled defender Roger Garcia with a dummied cross before picking out the Portuguese striker in the middle. Ajax answered with a headed effort from a corner by Leonardo, which Pierre Womé cleared off the goal line (16’). Werder were beginning to control the tie and created a number of chances to take the lead.
The majority of the openings fell to Almeida. Diego fed the young striker with a perfectly weighted pass but Almeida could only find the outer netting with his left footed shot (19’). The Portuguese pulled his next effort wide of the target too as Klose played him through in the box (29’). Pasanen put in a cross from the right which the 1,91m tall front man got his head to but could only flick the ball wide of the left post (31’). Ajax had only two further chances in the first half. Sneijder had a shot deflected away for a corner by Naldo (31’) and poacher Huntelaar couldn’t keep his close range effort down (42’).
On form Wiese frustrates Ajax
Despite the substitution of the injured Diego at half-time, the visitors started the second period with the upper hand. Ajax didn’t have their first sight of goal in the second half until the hour mark as Wiese was forced to turn a low drive from Sneijder away for a corner. This was to prove the start of a determined effort by Ajax to turn the tie on its head. Weise was able to save a close range header by Babel (59’) but had no chance as Babel broke past Pasanen and passed to Huntelaar who turned and shot brilliantly from the edge of the six yard boy to ake it 2:1 (60’). The Werder keeper continued to impress making fantastic save from a spectacular effort by Leonardo (64’) and a stop with his foot after Babel broke free with only the keeper left to beat. Werder had little luck in their efforts to release the pressure on the defence, creating only a couple of real openings during the second 45 minutes.
Firstly Klose was denied by Stekelenburg from just seven meters out (66’) before Almeida turned a further chance from a Daniel Jensen cross wide of the target (71’). As Babel gathered a poor clearance by Naldo, swept past a far too passive Mertesacker and hammered past Wiese to make it 3:1, Ajax were without a doubt back in the game. It was only two stunning saves from Wiese, firstly from Huntelaar from just five meters out (77’) and then an unbelieveable point balnk save from a Kenneth Perez header (90’), that kept the Green-Whites in the game. The visitors could in the end be very thankful to their keeper for preventing a forgone conclusion from the first leg from becoming an embarrassing exit from the UEFA Cup.
