Goalless in Bremen. SV Werder draw 0-0 in the first leg of the relegation play-off against 1. FC Heidenheim. Chances were few and far between in what was a high intensity affair. It was a bitter end to the game for the Green-Whites, who finished the game with ten men after captain Niklas Moisander was shown a second yellow.
Line up and formation: Head coach Florian Kohfeldt was forced into making one change to the side that started the 6-1 win against 1. FC Köln at the weekend. The suspended Kevin Vogt was replaced by Philipp Bargfrede. Christian Groß filled the empty space in the matchday squad.
Werder’s starting XI: Pavlenka, Rashica, Osako, Füllkrug, Veljkovic, Moisander, Gebre Selassie, Klaassen, Friedl, M. Eggestein and Bargfrede.
On the bench: Kapino, Augustinsson, Selke, Bittencourt, Pizarro, Sargent, Toprak, Bartels and Groß.
The highlights from the first half:
28th minute: First good chance for Werder. Marco Friedl whips in a good free kick, finding the head of Yuya Osako, however the Japan international was standing in an offside position. Meanwhile, the rain has started to pour here in Bremen.
36th minute: Another free kick in a good position here for SVW. Milot Rashica goes for goal from 18 yards out, however he fails to beat the wall.
The highlights from the second half:
65th minute: Once again Werder are awarded a free kick in a good position, but Milot Rashica fails to hit the target. Meanwhile, Kohfeldt makes a triple substitution: Leo Bittencourt, Fin Bartels and Christian Groß replace Davy Klaassen, Philipp Bargfrede and Niclas Füllkrug.
87th minute: Niklas Moisander is shown red for a second bookable offence. Werder will finish the game with ten and the captain will miss the second leg in Heidenheim.
90th minute: Almost the winner! FCH goalkeeper Kevin Müller comes out to claim but fails to clear his lines. Leo Bittencourt crosses the ball into the box, where Josh Sargent is lying in wait, but his shot is cleared off the line by Marnon Busch.
90th minute + 2: Heidenheim’s Timo Beerman finds himself with a free header from a corner, but his effort is narrowly wide.
90th minute + 4: Full time. It ends goalless in Bremen.
Match summary: Heidenheim proved to be a difficult opponent for the Green-Whites on a wet, windy night in Bremen. Werder will head into the second leg without conceding an away goal, which could prove vital due to the away goal rule. Werder’s fate will be decided in Heidenheim on Monday 6th July (20:30 CEST).
