Petersen decides North Derby

Bremen used a very strong team effort to collect an important victory against their arch North Derby rivals Hamburg.
First Team
Saturday, 21.09.2013 / 14:08

Werder Bremen secured a 2-0 victory over Hamburg on the sixth match day of the Bundesliga in a hotly contested North Derby with lots of match interruptions and plenty of aggressiveness. Nils Petersen scored the goal of the day...

Werder Bremen secured a 2-0 victory over Hamburg on the sixth match day of the Bundesliga in a hotly contested North Derby with lots of match interruptions and plenty of aggressiveness. Nils Petersen scored the goal of the day after a good half hour to start the Green-Whites on the right path. Petersen and Sebastian Prödl failed to decide the game in the second half before Petersen finally got the job done deep into injury time just seconds before the final whistle, overcoming a Hamburg defence full of holes.

Werder Bremen and Hamburg were squaring off for the 99th time in the Bundesliga - no other match-up has been played so often. The latest edition of the North Derby was being dubbed the "Crisis Derby" after the recent losses for both teams. Both the 15th-ranked Hamburg and 14th-ranked Werder were hoping to ease the situation a bit with a win and three important points.

Werder head coach Robin Dutt named two debutants to his starting line-up with Santiago Garcia and youth striker Martin Kobylanski making the first XI along with Aleksander Ignjovski and Petersen new in the team. Sebastian Prödl, Felix Kroos and Mehmet Ekici were kept out while Franco Di Santo was out suspended.

In addition to Elia, Fritz and Petersen, Ignjovski and Hunt were also very active in the first half.

Petersen rewards attentive Bremen

Werder quickly created good chances with Garcia shooting just wide left from 21 yards in the fifth minute. Bremen took over more and more control of the game as it went on though Petersen twice failed to convert chances in the 23rd and 31st minute. Petersen got his first goal in the 32nd minute with the ball going over the right side from Eljero Elia and Clemens Fritz, who crossed into the middle and Petersen was on the spot to hit home and make it 1-0. Bremen took that 1-0 advantage into the break.


Werder miss decider, nervous until end

Hamburg started the second half with a chance as Jiracek's pass found Beister for a dangerous attempt but Werder keeper Sebastian Mielitz was able to fend away the possible equaliser with a superb save in the 49th minute. Hamburg gained more confidence after the missed chance and forced the issue. But Mielitz proved too strong as he stopped an attempt by Rincon, showing how important he is for the team.

The final stages were not easy for the nerves of Werder fans. Hamburg pushed forward with all they had but Werder stood well and shortly before the final whistle beat the Hamburg defence as Petersen looped his shot over the backline and into the empty goal three minutes into injury time to make it 2-0. In the end, Bremen picked up three crucial points in what amounted to a strange contest - a derby will always be a derby.

Your web browser ist outdated.
The web browser you are using is no longer supported.
Please download one of these free and up to date browsers.
Chrome Mozilla Firefox Microsoft Edge
Chrome Firefox Edge
Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
MS Edge
Why should I use an up to date web browser?
Security
Newer web browsers provide better protection against malware, data theft and other threats to your privacy and security. Up to date browsers continuously close security holes that allow attackers to enter your computer.
New Technologies
The technologies used on modern websites are better supported by newer web browsers. This both increases functionality and improves the website layout. By benefiting from new functions and extensions you will be able to surf the web faster and easier.