46th minute: PAVLENKA! As he has many times already this season, the Czech stopper comes to his side’s rescue once again. The first lapse in concentration from the Bremen defence gives Martin Harnik a huge chance to equalise but Pavlenka makes himself big and prevents what would have been a wholly undeserved equaliser.
55th minute: GOAAAALLLL, 2-0 to SVW, Max Kruse. Werder clinically punish a catastrophic mistake from the visitors – Bargfrede presses Maier, wins the ball and has all the time in the world to play in Kruse who leaves Esser no chance.
59th minute: GOAAAALLLL, 3-0 to SVW, Max Kruse. It’s that man again. 96 fail to deal with a Werder counter once again, with Bartels turning provider to play in Kruse who turns to leave Sané trailing and fires past Esser.
78th minute: GOOAAALLLLLL, 4-0 to SVW, Max Kruse. It feels like the second half of last season again. Bartels is in space again and picks out Kruse who smashes past Esser for the third time to seal his hat-trick.
90+1 minute: Werder get their first win of the season!
Summary: The Green-Whites knew that they could build on the performance in the Frankfurt game by being courageous and positive from the get-go against the third-best defence in the Bundesliga. Junuzovic, Bartels and Eggestein all worked incredibly hard in attack, supported constantly by Gebre Selassie and Augustinsson on the wings. However, just as in the match two weeks ago, it looked like Werder would not be able to convert their numerous chances into goals before the break against the confident and intelligent visitors. However, the Green-Whites were rewarded for their patience in attack due to the brilliant interplay between Kruse and Bartels. After the break, it took Pavlenka’s save against Harnik to wake the home team up again and with two ice-cold counter attacks, Werder were able to put the game to bed. Hannover just could not deal with the hosts who played with a new-found freedom after the opening goal.
