Werder Bremen have picked up their first three pointer of the season. At 1. FC Nuremberg, the Green-Whites won 0:1 (0:0) a make a distinct move up the table.
Werder Bremen have picked up their first three pointer of the season. At 1. FC Nuremberg, the Green-Whites won 0:1 (0:0) a make a distinct move up the table.
Werder Bremen have picked up their first three pointer of the season. At 1. FC Nuremberg, the Green-Whites won 0:1 (0:0) a make a distinct move up the table. It was again a ‘Golden-Goal’, scored by Martin Harnik in the 61st minute, that made the difference between Werder and FCN. The youngster scored just eight minutes after being introduced as a substitute. The Green-Whites avoided hitting any snags in a relatively poor game of football and in fact could have made the win a lot more comfortable had Harnik taken either of the further chances that came his way.
Testing the water at distance
Trainer Thomas Schaaf trusted once again in the same starting eleven that came under the wheels against Bayern, with just one exception. Markus Rosenberg played from the beginning in place of the injured Boubacar Sanogo. Their opponents made a couple of changes compared to the previous week in Rostock with Jan Kristiansen and ex-Bremer Angelos Charisteas making way for Michael Beaucamp and Joshua Kennedy. The 45,200 strong crowd had to be patient waiting for the first real chance on goal. The first half saw little more than a number of hopeful shots from distance. Galasek (2’), Glauber (10’) and Vittek (14’) all had efforts fly high and wide of the Werder goal whilst Vranjes, with an effort that came close, and Diego tried their luck from distance at the other end.
The reasoning behind such wild shooting was simply down to the amount of miss-placed passes and easily lost possession whilst moving forward from both sides. Diego was intensely shadowed by Peer Kluge and later on Jawhar Mnari which had a negative effect on the visiting sides approach play. Nuremberg were equally reduced to some sparing individual efforts and had their best chance of the match as Robert Vittek jinked past Christian Schulz and Naldo in the box but then missed the target from ten meters out. For long periods the hosts controlled proceedings but never really threatened.
Werder harmless – then came Harnik
Werder had little to offer by way of offensive actions and despite both Rosenberg (38’) and Diego (45’) having opportunities to shoot from good central positions, FCN keeper Blazek was never tested. After the break it was much of the same. Thomas Schaaf’s men kept their opponents at bay and left them no other option than to hit from outside the box – ineffectively. The guests pressed as time went on and Diego got a shot in on goal after a good solo run (57’). On the hour Martin Harnik was introduced into the game and there was an immediate change in tempo. In the 63rd minute the youngster failed to pick out a scarily unmarker Hugo Almeida but six minutes later the Austrian international was bang on.
Christian Schulz set the 20 year old on his way down the left and Harnik beautifully dropped a shoulder to fool Reinhardt and then slid his shot past Blazek on the near side to give Werder a 1:0 lead. The hosts put on the pressure having fallen behind but looked short of a genuine plan as to how to equalise whilst at the same time, a secure Werder defence tightened and allowed for zero penetration. On the break, Daniel Jensen could have increased the deficit with a 25 meter effort (76’) and substitute Kevin Schindler was lucky not to mark his appearance with a goal (85’). The best chances to double their lead fell to Harnik in the 90th and 92nd minutes but the youngster couldn’t find the necessary finish.
In the end it was three vital points for Thomas Schaaf’s side, which takes them out of the bottom third of the table, and an important boost to confidence ahead of Wednesday’s (29.08.2007) Champions League qualifier second leg against Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.
Johnnie Muldoon
1.FC Nürnberg - Werder Bremen
1.FC Nürnberg: Blazek – Reinhardt, Wolf, Glauber (60. Engelhardt), Beauchamp – Galasek – Kluge (74. Mnari), Mintal – Vittek, Kennedy (60. Misimovic), Saenko
Werder Bremen: Wiese – Pasanen, Naldo, Mertesacker, Schulz – Baumann, Vranjes, Jensen (89. Andreasen), Diego – Rosenberg (61. Harnik), Hugo Almeida (81. Schindler); auf der Bank: Vander, Tosic, Niemeyer
Goal (s): 0:1 Harnik (69.)
Referee: Meyer (Burgdorf)
Attendance: easyCredit-Stadion: 45.200
Yellow cards: Kluge, Wolf – Mertesacker, Rosenberg, Hugo Almeida, Schulz
