SV Werder enjoyed a convincing 4-0 victory in Sunday’s friendly against FC Twente. The Green-Whites, with the restart of Bundesliga action in sight, looked in tremendous form in the final practice match of the winter break. One goal from Florian Kainz and two from Max Kruse in the first half gave Werder a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break, then substitute Johannes Eggestein made it four with a fantastic solo goal in the 79th minute.
Line-up and formation: Werder head coach Florian Kohfeldt sent his first team of 2018 out in a 4-1-4-1 formation. In front of Jiri Pavlenka between the sticks, Ludwig Augustinsson, Niklas Moisander, Milos Veljkovic and Robert Bauer formed the back four. The attacking quintet of Florian Kainz, Maxi Eggestein, Zlatko Junuzovic, Izet Hajrovic and Max Kruse was protected in defensive midfield by Philipp Bargfrede.
3rd minute: GOAL! That was quick. Florian Kainz scores the first goal of the New Year for Werder after a lovely diagonal pass from Max Kruse, cutting inside from the left and drilling the ball into the bottom right corner.
15th minute: 2-0! Max Kruse extends SVW’s lead. That was coming. Once again, a diagonal pass in the build-up is to thank, this time from Robert Bauer towards Kruse, who takes the ball down casually and places it into the near corner. Werder are making a very good impression indeed here.
28th minute: Werder are in control, playing patiently with alert defending when necessary. All-round satisfying performance from the Green-Whites.
40th minute: 3-0, Max Kruse from the penalty spot! Florian Kainz is too fast for his marker on the left, and can only be stopped with a foul once inside the penalty area. The resulting penalty is dispatched calmly by Max Kruse. Our new double-K attacking duo is a joy to watch!
Half time: Impressive stuff from Werder, who deservedly lead 3-0 at the break.
46th minute: Florian Kohfeldt makes two half-time changes, Theo Gebre Selassie and Jerome Gondorf replace Robert Bauer and Philipp Bargfrede. Twente, on the other hand, change their entire eleven.
66th minute: Milos Veljkovic gets a second yellow card and is sent off. The two teams and managers agreed to allow Werder to replace Veljkovic with Lamine Sané to keep the game at 11 vs. 11.
79th minute: GOAL! Jojo Eggestein brings this game back to life. What an effort from the youngster! At full pace, Jojo drove towards Twente’s goal, making his defenders look ten years older with a lovely step-over before hitting the ball into the back of the net. Fantastic!
Full time: Werder leave the pitch as 4-0 winners.
In conclusion, this was a fully-deserved victory for Werder Bremen. Their Dutch counterparts may have lacked any sort of threat, but the Green-Whites took full advantage of this, and then some. Florian Kainz and Max Kruse in particular were too hot to handle for FC Twente. For Florian Kohfeldt’s team, this was a very encouraging performance, with the return of the Bundesliga less than a week away. On Saturday, 13th January, Werder will host TSG Hoffenheim at 15:30 CET.
SV Werder: Pavlenka - Augustinsson (81' Jacobsen), Moisander (73' Caldirola), Veljkovic (61' Sané), Bauer (46' Gebre Selassie) - Bargfrede (46' Gondorf) - Kainz, M. Eggestein, Junuzovic, Hajrovic (73' Vollert) - Kruse (73' J. Eggestein)
FC Twente, 1st half: Drommel - Cuevas, Lam, Jansen, ter Avest - Holla, Assaidi, Jensen, Vuckic, Bijen - Boere
2nd half: Brondeel - Van der Lely, Hooiveld, Trajkovski, Sambissa - Liendl - Van der Heyden, Laukart, George, Kvasina - Oosterwijk
Goals: 1-0 Kainz (3'), 2-0 Kruse (15'), 3-0 Kruse (40' pen.), 4-0 J. Eggestein (79')
Attendance: 500
Florian Kohfeldt: "It was a good friendly. The game gad a decent intensity level and the goals came at the perfect time. We controlled the game throughout too. I was able to see a few positional nuances that we had worked on, which was pleasing. We always stayed calm on the ball, but also found the right moments to drive forward. On top of that, we didn't suffer any injuries. We have one more session tomorrow, and then I think we can speak of a successful training camp."
