Seconds before the final whistle, Werder Bremen were denied victory in their first friendly at their Austrian training camp. The youthful Green-White side took on top-flight Czech outfit 1. FK Příbram in front of a 800-strong crowd at the Parkstadion in Zillertal. The match was played over two 35 minute halves. Josh Sargent netted the opener, assisted by Fridolin Wagner (8’), but Jan Matousek equalised in the last minute of the match to make it 1-1 (70’).
Line-up and formation: Florian Kohfeldt showed attacking intent with a 4-3-3 formation. Goalkeeping prodigy Luca Plogmann took his place between the sticks behind a back four made up of new signing Felix Beijmo, Jannes Vollert, Marco Friedl and Jan-Niklas Beste, recently acquired from Dortmund. Ole Käuper operated fairly high in central midfield, whilst Jean-Manuel Mbom and Fridolin Wagner sat in behind. Captain Florian Kainz lead the band of youngsters from attack alongside the Americans Aron Johannsson and Josh Sargent.
HIGHLIGHTS
8’ - GOAL FOR WERDER! (Josh Sargent): Wagner plays a silky through ball to Sargent, who outsprints the defence and hits a low shot past the keeper into the right side of the net.
16’ – Beijmo dribbles deep into the FKP half up to the right edge of the box, but his subsequent effort passes by the left post.
18’ – The Czechs have their first chance of the game. Jan Rezek fires a free kick just wide.
35’+1 – Half time at Parkstadion. Werder lead 1-0 thanks to Sargent.
43’ – Almost the equaliser for FKP! Rezek picks up the ball 10 yards from the Werder goal, Friedl fluffs a clearance and the ball lands at the feet of substitute David Kilian, who hammers his shot against the upright.
69’ GOAL for FK Pribram! (Jan Matousek): The Czech attacker levels the match in the dying minutes. Beste and Friedl can’t stop Matousek, who launches the ball past Plogmann into the far corner.
70’+1 – Full time. Pribram earn themselves a 1-1 draw with a last-ditch goal.
Summary: The youthful Werder XI pressed hard in the first 15 minutes and visibly posed a threat to the Czech side. Josh Sargent rewarded the team’s pace and quality in the early phase with a deserved goal. But their opponents came alive as the game progressed. The Green-Whites could hardly get the ball out of their own half due to Pribram’s effective high press. However, apart from Rezek’s free kick (18’), FKP hardly challenged the Werder goal. SVW couldn’t add to their advantage after the break and Pribram pushed for an equaliser. As the game seemed to be all but over, Jan Matousek took advantage of the waning intensity and grabbed a late goal.
Werder Bremen: Plogmann – Beijmo, Vollert, Friedl, Beste – Käuper, Mbom, Wagner (36‘ Gruev) – Kainz (C), Johannsson, Sargent
1. FK Příbram: Koci – Nitriansky, Pechacek, Tregler – Matousek, Fantis, Prucha, Kvet, Skacel – Slepicka, Rezek (Substitutes used: Svenger – Kodr, Antwi, Kilian, Grajciar, Jandera, Soldat, Portilho)
Goals: 1-0 Sargent (8‘), 1-1 Matousek (69‘)
Venue: Patkstadion, Zell am Ziller
Attendance: 800
