SV Werder Bremen were unable able to kick off 2024 with a win after losing 3-1 to second-division side Eintracht Braunschweig in a friendly fixture on Sunday. Fabio Kaufmann gave the hosts an early lead (10’), which was doubled by Rayan Philippe just before the break (41’). After half time, Thórir Helgaso fired home Eintracht’s third (47’), which the Green-Whites were able to respond to through Nick Woltemade in the closing stages (83’), but it was unfortunately too little too late for Werder.
Squad update: Ole Werner was without Amos Pieper, Leon Opitz, and Nicolai Rapp against Eintracht Braunschweig, who are all still working on their comebacks. NabyKeïta was absent from the squad, as the midfielder is currently preparing for the AFCON with Guinea. Milos Veljkovic was also out of action due to a knee joint issue.
Werder’s starting XI: Zetterer - Deman, Jung, Stark, Stage, Ducksch, Weiser, Bittencourt, Njinmah, Schmid, Friedl
Bench: Pavlenka, Meyer - Kownacki, Lynen, Löpping, Borrè, Sato, Woltemade, Groß, Röcker
First-half highlights:
2nd minute: Eintracht are out all guns blazing, and striker Philippe sets the tone by firing the first of many shots off the crossbar.
10th minute: Fabio Kaufmann opens the scoring for the hosts. The midfielder brings the ball down with his chest and slots away a low strike for Eintracht.
24th minute: SVW almost get their equaliser! Weiser is denied by the inside of the post, and Braunschweig are then able to clear it out of the box.
33rd minute: Werder hit the woodwork! Romano Schmid is fouled again just outside the box. Ducksch then strikes the bar with the resulting free-kick and it bounces out for a goal-kick.
41st minute: Braunschweig attack again with pace. A long ball finds Rayan Phillippe, which sees him hold off Marco Friedl and make it 2-0 for the hosts.
Second-half highlights:
47th minute: There’s no messing around for Braunschweig. Thórir Helgason gets on the scoresheet and puts the hosts ahead by three.
72nd minute: Denied, yet again, by the woodwork! Bittencourt lets fly from range, but he just can’t find the back of the net.
83rd minute: SVW get one back! Rafael Borré puts it on a plate for Nick Woltemade, who hits it first time to the right of the Braunschweig keeper.
89th minute: SVW hit the bar again! It’s hardly believable! After Kownacki’s effort is saved, Woltemade fires one off the bar from close range.
90th minute: Full-time! Werder fall to a 3-1 defeat following a hard-fought game.
Summary: Eintracht Braunschweig were quick out the blocks and put in a strong defensive performance, against which Werder struggled to respond, and the visitors were denied by the woodwork on countless occasions.Despite this, they put in a final push in the closing stages and were able to get one back thanks to youngster Nick Woltemade.
Head coach Ole Werner: “We’re disappointed with both the result and the performance. Our communication and organisation weren’t at the standard they should be for a friendly or next week’s league game. As a whole, it wasn’t a satisfactory game. The fact that we didn’t have a good week of training, with only 13 players involved at times, is not an excuse. For us, it will come down to bringing a different intensity into next week’s sessions and get back into the momentum of playing in the way that we did before Christmas.”
Head of professional football Clemens Fritz: “That was a poor game with a poor result to match. The disappointing performance was obviously a shock to me. If we play like that, we shouldn’t be surprised when we lose here or concede as many goals against Bochum next week as we did last year in Cologne.”
