Werder beat FC Everton 1-0

Werder won their final test before the start of the Bundesliga by beating FC Everton 1-0 in front of 17,300 spectators at Weser Stadium. Sandro Wagner scored the only goal in the 37th minute of the final dress rehearsal for the Bundesliga.

"In the first half you could tell that we were hurt by our elimination in the (German DFB) Cup and that our self-confidence suffered a bit. We had to play ourselves free first. In the second half it was better. We created more chances and played better in front of the opposing goal," said head coach Thomas Schaaf. "I hope that we can still get better. We have to add another gear for Saturday."

In the early going, returnee Per Mertesacker received applause for his strong defence though there was little to praise offensively. Werder took the lead nonetheless after 37 minutes through Sandro Wagner. The 23-year-old striker did not hit the ball cleanly but his header went just over the dumbfounded keeper Jan Mucha to make it 1-0. And Bremen went into the break with that lead.

After halftime, Schaaf brought on Kevin Schindler, Aaron Hunt and Marko Marin for Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Florian Trinks and Wesley. But the game did not drop quality-wise. Actually it was just the opposite as Werder were stronger. Hunt delivered a strong blast after 55 minutes but new Everton keeper Tim Howard came up with a superb save.

All Werder fans had a reason to celebrate a minute later as Sebastian Prödl returned to the pitch in the 56th minute after a long injury break, replacing Mertesacker. Markus Rosenberg missed a good chance in the final minutes and Werder ended the game deserved 1-0 winners.