It was another disappointing Bundesliga weekend for Werder fans, as Florian Kohfeldt’s side were beaten 2-0 at home by 1. FC Union Berlin. After a quiet first half for both sides, the visitors from the capital caught Bremen on the counter twice in the second 45, while the Green-Whites failed to find a way through the stubborn Union backline.
Line-up and formation: There was just one change to Florian Kohfeldt’s side from the DFB-Pokal victory over Borussia Dortmund, with Milos Veljkovic dropping to the bench and Ömer Toprak coming in. New signing Davie Selke was also passed fit to start once again in the versatile 3-5-2 system.
Werder’s starting XI: Pavlenka - Moisander, Vogt, Veljkovic - Friedl, Klaassen, M. Eggestein, Osako, Bittencourt - Rashica, Selke
On the bench: Kapino – Veljkovic, Pizarro, Sahin, Sargent, Bartels, J. Eggestein, Groß, Goller
First-half highlights:
10th minute: Davie Selke gets his first sight of goal. Maxi Eggestein drives down the right flank and delivers the ball into the centre, where Selke gets it out of his feet neatly with his first touch. Just as he unleashes a shot, however, a Hertha defender manages to get a block in just in time.
27th minute: The home fans thought that was going in! Leo Bittencourt picks out Maxi Eggestein in the box, but the midfielder doesn’t connect with the ball properly and his golden chance slips wide of the target.
39th minute: A promising moment fizzles into nothing as Davy Klaassen has the chance to feed the open Yuya Osako, but his pass is wayward and cut out.
Second-half highlights:
50th minute: The Octopus keeps things level with a fine stop. Gentner’s cross is headed powerfully at goal by Andersson, but Jiri Pavlenka reacts brilliantly to tip the ball over the bar.
52nd minute: 1-0 to Union. Werder are caught on the counter as Lenz’s low cross into the middle is tucked away by Marius Bülter.
55th minute: Good response from Bremen. A free kick is headed down in the box by Kevin Vogt and met on the volley by Osako, but his shot is too central and gathered by Gikiewicz.
61st minute: Bittencourt comes close with a curling effort towards the top corner, but again the Union goalkeeper is up to the task.
72nd minute: 2-0 to Union. It’s another clinical counterattack from the visitors. Pavlenka does superbly to save from close range against Andersson, however, the ball falls to Bülter and he manages to squeeze it over the line from a tight angle before Niklas Moisander can clear.
76th minute: Inches away from a goal back! Milot Rashica unleashes a thunderous strike from the edge of the box, but it flashes narrowly wide.
Summary: It’s another setback for SVW in the relegation battle. The Gree-Whites can only blame themselves for defeat. Despite hard work, there was a clear lack of incisiveness, both in attack and defence. Tuesday’s win over Dortmund highlighted exactly what the team is capable of, but there was to be no repeat performance against Union.
