Penalties, VAR, Füllkrug – Werder fight their way to victory against Union

SVW take home the three points after a hectic 98 minutes of football
Jubilation: JoJo Eggestein, Yuya Osako und Co. celebrate with match winner Niclas Füllkrug after he makes it 2-1 (Photo: nordphoto).
Match Report
Thursday, 05.09.2019 / 17:36

Von Daniel Gerdes

SV Werder continue their good run of form with a 2-1 win over 1. FC Union Berlin, building on the victory over Augsburg two weeks ago. After an eventful first quarter of an hour, with two goals coming from the penalty spot (Klaassen 5’ and Andersson 14’), the game started to fade away with limited chances for either side. It was a similar story in the second half: Werder scored the winning goal through Füllkrug in the 55th minute, despite missing a penalty just moments before. The hosts threw everything they had at Werder in search of an equaliser, but unfortunately struggled to create any real openings. In the final minutes of the game, tempers were rising as two players were shown red.

Line-up and formation: Werder’s injury woes meant that Florian Kohfeldt had to be creative when choosing his starting XI. There were Bundesliga debuts for both new signing Leo Bittencourt, as well as the experienced Christian Groß. Marco Friedl once again took up the left-back position, with Gebre Selassie and Michael Lang forming the right-hand side of the defence. Captain Davy Klaassen was joined in midfield by Nuri Sahin and Johannes Eggestein, with the trio of Bittencourt, Osako and Füllkrug leading the line. Head coach Kohfeldt decided to line-up in a 4-3-3 formation. 

Werder’s starting XI: Pavlenka, Lang, Gebre Selassie, Groß, Friedl, Sahin, J. Eggestein, Klaassen, Osako, Bittencourt, Füllkrug

On the bench: Kapino, Pizarro, Sargent, Straudi, Gruev and Goller
 

Two penalties, two goals: 1-1

Davy Klaassen makes it 1-0 form the penalty spot (Photo: nordphoto).

The highlights from the first half: 

2nd minute: Incredible! Werder have a penalty after just 67 seconds. They counter quickly with number 10 Leonardo Bittencourt. He takes the ball wide, at first posing no danger to the Union defence. However, Lenz’s pass is too short for Gikiewicz and Klaassen manages to get there first, before being taken down by the goalkeeper. VAR is checking the incident, and the referee Tobias Welz goes over to watch the replay.

5th minute: GOOAALL for Werder! Davy Klaassen makes it 0-1: After a minute long discussion, Captain Davy Klaassen is finally allowed to take the penalty and puts it straight down the middle.  Gikiewicz dives to the right and gets his foot on it but can’t quite keep it out. Dream start for Werder!

13th minute: What’s happening here? Tobias Welz is walking over to the VAR monitor for the second time. The ball has hit the arm of Christian Groß and the referee awards a penalty!

14th minute: Goal for 1. FC Union Berlin, 1-1 Sebastian Andersson: Andersson places the ball on the spot and puts it down the middle of the goal. Pavlenka dives to the left and is left with no chance, 1-1.

36th minute: First chance of the game for Johannes Eggestein. Friedrich fails to clear Friedl’s cross, allowing Eggestein to try his luck. Giekiewicz does well and clears the ball to the corner, averting the danger. 

45th minute: Halftime at the Alten Försterei. A penalty awarded by VAR and success from the spot for both teams means they go into the interval with nothing to separate them. 

 

Füllkrug’s header puts Werder in front

Strong in the air: Füllkrug beats Andersson und heads the visitors in front (Photo: nordphoto).

The highlights of the second half:

48th minute: Both teams are unchanged as we enter the second half. The first chance falls to the hosts, as Trimmel whips in a strong free-kick towards the goal and Friedrich rises the highest to meet it, narrowly missing the target.

54th minute: Another penalty! Gebre Selassie is taken down by Trimmel. Klaassen against Gikiewicz round two. Davy aims for the left-hand corner, but Gikiewicz dives the right way and manages to keep it out. Incredible!

54th minute: GOOAALL for Werder! 2-1, Niclas Füllkrug! The resulting corner is whipped in by Nuri Sahin and Lücke rises the highest to send a powerful header past Union’s keeper from close range. The Green-Whites take the lead!

88th minute: Union aren’t quite beaten yet. Christian Groß throws himself in front of a shot and manages to clear.

90th minute: Subotic is shown a second yellow after a strong barge on Bittencourt, earning him an early bath. Kohfeldt is also shown a yellow amongst the commotion, and Benjamin Goller comes on for his Bundesliga debut. Just a few moments later Nuri Sahin is also sent off!

90th minute + 8: Final whistle in Köpenick! Werder take a 2-1 victory over 1. FC Union Berlin after an eventful game, filled with penalties and sending offs.

 

Match summary: Florian Kohfeldt’s injury-hit team pick up their first away win of the season, taking all three points back to Bremen. VAR decisions, three penalties and a Füllkrug header decide the game for Werder today who have taken six points from their last two games. Klaassen, Sahin and Co. can now look forward to next weekend when they will host RB Leipzig at the wohninvest WESERSTADION.

 
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