A tough battle, nervy moments and late relief! It was no easy pickings on the ninth match day of the season but Werder Bremen eventually beat MSV Duisburg 3:1.
A tough battle, nervy moments and late relief! It was no easy pickings on the ninth match day of the season but Werder Bremen eventually beat MSV Duisburg 3:1.
A tough battle, nervy moments and late relief! It was no easy pickings on the ninth match day of the season but Werder Bremen eventually beat MSV Duisburg 3:1. Daniel Jensen finished off some good work from Perti Pasanen to give the visitors an early lead (7’). On the quarter hour though Ailton put the home side back on level terms. Werder were the better side in a physical tie but took until the 56th minute until Boubacar Sanogo got the Green-Whites back in front again. Just a minute previously, MSV were reduced to ten men as Pablo Caceres saw red. In the 75th minute the home side lost a second man when Blagoy Georgiev received his marching orders. With three minutes to go, substitute Leon Andreasen was on target to make it 3:1 for Werder and secure the points for Thomas Schaaf’s team.
’Boro’ returns to the starting eleven
Whilst new signing Ailton made his first start in the Bundesliga for MSV Duisburg, there were two familiar faces back in the Werder Bremen starting eleven as Torsten Frings and Tim Borowski made their Bundesliga comeback’s. Compared to the side which started in the 1:3 defeat by Piräus in the Champions League, Boubacar Sanogo began in place of Hugo Almeida, Petri Pasanen moved out to the left side of the back four to allow Clemens Fritz to replace Dusko Tosic.
Jensen gets the ball rolling
Werder’s very first genuine attack of the game was to lead to the opening goal. Borowski sent Pasanen on his way down the left and the Finnish international broke through to the by-line before pulling the ball back to the on-rushing Daniel Jensen who hammered past the MSV keeper to make it 0:1 (7’). Two minutes later, Per Mertesacker came very close to making it two for the visitors as he headed a Diego free-kick goal wards but narrowly missed the target.
Unbelievably Ailton
It took until the quarter hour mark for Duisburg to make a forceful attack on goal and yet again, the first chance was to end in the back of the net. Ironically it was former Werder favourite Ailton who made it 1:1. Georgiev was allowed to cross into the box and an unintentional hand ball by Tiffert fell to the Brazilian who slotted home to score against his ex-club.
The Green-Whites appeared unperturbed by the Duisburg equaliser and took control of the game over distinct periods. Werder’s so often the superior power on the pitch had problems and even Diego failed to make his mark on the match. Still, Frings (18’, 23’) and Rosenberg (22’) each had chances to restore the Bremen lead.
Vander to the rescue
MSV were determined to get their noses in front and were allowed the space to do so by the visitors all too often. Shortly before the half-time break there was high tension in the Bremen penalty area as Ailton jinked past Naldo and brought a stunning save from Christian Vander, the ball fell to Christian Tiffert who was also denied by the heroics of Vander before Naldo finally cleared the danger with a spectacular over head kick. It was clear to the travelling fans that their side would have to raise their game if they were to take three points away from the MSV-Arena.
A ‘colourful’ match
One particular Duisburg player was to see to it that a little colour came into the game. Within two minutes, MSV left full-back Pablo Caceres twice saw yellow for fouls on Jensen and Fritz leaving referee Thorsten Kinhöfer with no choice but to send him for an early shower. Almost immediately after the sending off, life was to become yet more difficult for the home side as Mertesacker headed on a long pass from Frings and Sanogo got a foot in ahead of Fernando to turn the ball past the keeper and make it 2:1 in the visitors favour (56’).
With Werder in the lead again, the game took on a more physical approach and there were a further five yellow cards brandished, including cards for Fritz and Jensen. Things were to go from bad to worse for the home team with fifteen minutes to go as Georgiev made an abusive gesture towards the referee and was shown red for his troubles. Despite being two goals down, Duisburg refused to fold and threw caution to the wind, causing the Werder defence some problems.
Fritz clears off the line
Idrissou had the chance to put his side back on level terms in the 85th minute but Clemens Fritz was able to clear the ball from the goal line. Two minutes later, Werder hit on the attack to score a third and put the match beyond MSV. Sanogo selflessly laid the ball back to Leon Andreasen who drove home the ball from 17 meters out in a central position to make it 1:3 and secure the three points for Bremen.
Johnnie Muldoon
MSV Duisburg - Werder Bremen 1:3
MSV Duisburg: Starke - Lamey, Schlicke, Filipescu (19. Fernando), Caceres - Grlic (74. Daun), Tararache - Tiffert, Ishiaku, Georgiev - Ailton (65. Idrissou)
Werder Bremen: Vander - Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen - Frings (76. Vranjes) - Borowski (69. Andreasen), Jensen - Diego - Sanogo, Rosenberg (89. Almeida); auf der Bank: Pellatz, Harnik, Tosic, Mosquera
Goals: 0:1 (7.) Jensen, 1:1 (15.) Ailton, 1:2 (56.) Sanogo, 1:3 (87.) Andreasen
Referee: Kinhöfer (Herne)
Attendance: MSV-Arena: 31.006 (sold-out)
Yellow cards: Schlicke, Grlic, Tiffert – Fritz, Jensen
Gelb-Rot: Caceres (55., repeated fouls)
Red card: Georgiev (75., ungentlemanly conduct)
