Bremen Beat Berin To Go Second

First Team
Sunday, 21.10.2007 / 11:42

Five games without defeat, three wins in succession and the move into second place in the table. Werder Bremen have extended their good run in the Bundesliga with a well deserved 3:2 win over Hertha BSC Berlin.

Five games without defeat, three wins in succession and the move into second place in the table. Werder Bremen have extended their good run in the Bundesliga with a well deserved 3:2 win over Hertha BSC Berlin.

Following a goal-less first half, the Green-Whites stepped up the pace after the break and took the lead through Hugo Almeida (57’). Gilberto had the answer for the visitors in the 61st minute but almost immediately, Markus Rosenberg restored the home sides lead (62’). Leon Andreasen made it 3:1 for Thomas Schaaf’s men in the 74th minute and despite an injury time goal for Hertha by Solomon Okoronkwo, the three points remained in Bremen.

 

Wiese returns

 

After the break for international games, Werder coach Thomas Schaaf made two changes to the eleven which started in the 3:1 win in Duisburg. Having recovered from injury, Tim Wiese took his place back between the posts again which meant Christian Vander returned to the bench whist Boubacar Sanogo was joined up front on this occasion by Hugo Almeida rather than Markus Rosenberg.

 

The Green-Whites had some problems finding their way into the game early on but as the game progressed the home side looked increasingly more stable. Much of the play was made through the centre with – once again – Diego pulling the strings for the Bremen club but with options in the wide positions from Petri Pasanen (left) and Clemens Fritz (right). Hertha looked well organised at the back and were well able to cope with anything the hosts had to offer, breaking down most attacks by the time they’d reached the penalty area.

 

Genuine chances on goal were a rarity at either end. Bremen dominated with 61% of possession but with a half hour played, there was little by way of a strike on goal short of one well hit free-kick by Diego (27’). It was the visitors who were to have the best opening of the first period with a quick break. Pal Dardai sent Tobias Grahn sprinting down the right wing but as the cross reached Gilberto, the Brazilian swiped over the ball and Wiese could gather (44’).

 

More tempo after the break

 

There were no personnel changes at the break but it was a much more determined Werder side which took to the pitch for the second half. Fast moving combination play was the order at the break and within a minute, Hugo Almeida tested Jaroslav Drobny who need to scramble to cover the ball at the second attempt (46’). Daniel Jensen played Diego through and the tricky Brazilian got a shot in but was blocked away by the lunge of Hertha captain Arne Friedrich for a corner (48’). Soon after Sanogo found Fritz with a pass but the German internationals effort wasn’t enough to trouble the Berlin goal. The home side were in complete control and the central defensive pairing of Naldo and Per Mertesacker were by now doing their job on the half way line.

 

Schaaf’s men had their best chance to that point in the 51st minute as Torsten Frings fed Diego and the Werder playmaker hammered the ball against the cross bar. The loose ball fell to Tim Borowski who proved too rash in his finishing. With the game still poised at 0:0, Werder began to look frustrated and Hertha themselves still had something to offer.

 

Almeida’s historical strike

 

And then it came! A pacy Werder counter attack was to open the scoring. Diego slotted a pass through to Almeida who out-sprinted a number of defenders and drove the ball with his left boot inside the near post – 1:0 (57’). The joy at Werder’s 2,500th goal in their Bundesliga history was short lived though as Hertha were rewarded for their positive efforts just four minutes later. Partick Ebert lobbed the ball to Gilberto who saw Wiese advancing and clipped the ball over the keeper to make it 1:1.

 

Werder shook off the set back rapidly and almost immediately from the re-start found the perfect answer. Almeida nodded a Diego pass into the path of substitute Markus Rosenberg who again slammed the ball past Drobny inside the near post – 2:1.

 

Andreasen puts it beyond Berlin

 

Werder were not satisfied to sit back on their lead, but instead pushed to increase the deficit yet further. Drobny had to be alert to deny Frings (67’) and a Naldo free-kick (72’) but the keeper could do nothing to prevent ‘Super-Sub’ Leon Andreasen from sealing the points ahead of time. Frings played the Dane through and he shook off defender Steve von Bergen before placing the ball neatly into the bottom left corner to make it 3:1.

 

The ball was very much in Werder’s course with the visitors reducing to maintaining a respectable score line as once again Diego shone as the brains of the Green-Whites attack. Werder could have had more but Jensen (81’) and Diego (84’) wasted chance to make it four or five for the home side. Solomon Okoronkwo reduced the deficit surprisingly in added time to 3:2 but there was no way the home side were letting this once slip from their grasp.

 

Johnnie Muldoon

 

Werder Bremen- Hertha BSC Berlin 3:2

 

Werder Bremen: Wiese - Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen - Jensen, Frings (82. Baumann), Borowski (68. Andreasen) - Diego - Sanogo (58. Rosenberg), Almeida; auf der Bank: Vander, Vranjes, Tosic, Mosquera

 

Hertha BSC Berlin: Drobny - Chahed, Friedrich, von Bergen, Fathi - Simunic, Dardai (74. Piszczek) - Ebert, Grahn (85. Mineiro), Gilberto - Pantelic (59. Okoronkwo)

 

Goals: 1:0 (57.) Almeida, 1:1 (61.) Gilberto, 2:1 (62.) Rosenberg, 3:1 (74.) Andreasen, 3:2 (90.) Okoronkwo

 

Referee: Günter Perl (München)

 

Attendance: Weser-Stadion: 40.278

 

Yelow cards: Borowski, Fritz – Grahn, Fathi

 

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