Werder Bremen managed a 0:0 draw in their UEFA Cup quarter final first round tie away to AZ Alkmaar. Thomas Schaaf's men put themselves in a good position for the second leg at the Weser Stadium next week in front of a 16,401, almost capacity, crowd at he DSB Stadium. After a fairly evenly matched first half, Alkmaar put on the pressure and upped the tempo after the break, creating enough chances to put themselves ahead in the tie. Werder's best chance of the match came after eleven minutes through Clemens Fritz.
Thomas Schaaf made two changes to the starting eleven which drew 0:0 with Energie Cottbus at the weekend. Daniel Jensen, who has been suffering with a groin problem, was replaced by Patrick Owomoyela whilst Hugo Almeida got the nod ahead of Aaron Hunt for a start. It was 'Owo's' first start of the season. The trainer had a trick up his sleeve with his formation with Owomoyela playing the right full-back roll and Clemens Frtz moving into the inside right position in midfield. Torsten Frings played wide on the left of midfield and Jurica Vranjes slotted in ahead of the back four. AZ coach Louis van Gaal stuck with the startng eleven which beat RKC Waalwijk at the weekend.
Chance for Fritz
The game got off to a somewhat nervous start with the first incident, a corner for Werder following a slip by the Alkmaar keper Waterman (3'). It took until the 11th minute to produce the next chance on goal – and what a chance. Clemens Fritz took o the ball and drove forward, jinking past a defender before playing a clever one-two with Diego. With only Waterman to beat, Clemens sprint through the Alkmaar half seemed to drain his energy and the German international shot directly at the keeper who could easily turn the ball around the post. It was a scene which would leave its mark on the game for the coming period. A wary Alkmaar were happy to push the ball back and forward within their own half and Werder controled the flow of the play.
That was all to change on tha half hour thanks to an unusual slip by Naldo (27'). The Brazilian centre half sliced at the ball and almost turned it past Tim Wiese who was happy to scramble back and avert the danger. Four minutes later, AZ had their best chance of the first half as Julian Jenner crossed to the head of Maarten Martens. Tim Wiese had to go full stretch to pluck the effort out of the corner. Alkmaar were piling on the pressure and the Green-Whites were decidedly more defensive and extremely passive getting men behind the ball. The goal machine of the Dutch Ehrendivision (73 goals) were beginning to warm to the tie.
Turbulent re-start
The final opening of the first half fell to Arveladze whose header missed the target and the sides went into the break at still-stand. The second half began with much more purpose, in particular from the hosts. The red and whites pressed and forced Werder back into their own penalty area and when their chance came in the 53rd minute, it was not much of a surprise. Again Naldo played an unintentional part in the build up as his attempted clearance landed at the feet of Moussa Dembélé who, from point blank range, blasted directly at Tim Wiese.
Alkmaar kept the pressure on and just 60 seconds later Tim Wiese had to react quickly to get down to his left and cover a Danny Koevermans shot. The Green-Whites had little to offer by way of threatening their opponents with neither Wome (50') nor Diego (56') really troubling the keeper.
In the 62nd minute Wiese and Pierre Wome combined to cause some commotion as the keeper was again forced to cover a poorly played back pass on the edge of the box. This was completely harmles though compared to the scene which unfolded seven minutes later. Again it was Wiese and Wome involved. A wasted Werder corner was quickly turned into an Alkmaar attack. The Werder full back attempted to head back to his keeper but failed to see Wises advancing himself and headed past his team mate. Luckily the Cameroovian defender was quick enough to get back and clear his own mis-placed header off the goal line as he raced past the already beaten keeper.
Wome was at the central roll again soon after, but this time at the other end of the pitch. The defender unleashed a rocket of a free kick from 25 meters out which struck the goalkeepers chest and left him gasping for breath, so powerful was the Wome drive. The next cause for discussion was a decision by the referee Olegário Benquerenca to issue Grétar Steinsson his second yellow card and send him from the pitch. A moment of utter confusion as firstly the AZ player had used his head and not his hand to play the ball and secondly, had not previously been booked. The referee was made aware of his mistake and quickly retracted the card.
Both sides were beginning to tire and that was clear to see. Despite the introduction of Aaron Hunt, Werder had little to offer up front with Diego being tightly marked and Miroslav Klose almost a non-entity. The last chance of the tie was a shot from Fritz, after a short solo run, which never really looked like threatening the keeper. The game finished in stalemate, a result which Werder can consider satisfactory when thy look at Alkmaar's stunning home record in Europe (30 games without defeat). There is no question though that the Dutch side will consider themselves to be in with a chance in the second leg.
Johnnie Muldoon