SV Werder Bremen were beaten 2-0 against VfL Osnabrück in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. After the hosts made the breakthrough courtesy of Maurice Trapp (44’) just before half time, Werder gave it their all in the second period but were unable to find an equaliser. As the game approached full-time, Sven Köhler (90+5) scored from a counterattack to make it 2-0 and seal the victory.
Line-up and formation: Head coach Markus Anfang made two changes to the team that faced Düsseldorf for the DFB-Pokal 2021/22 first-round match. Osnabrück-born Felix Agu and attacker Eren Dinkci were rotated into the starting XI. Josh Sargent and Yuya Osako (adductor problem) did not make the journey to Osnabrück and were replaced by Oscar Schönfelder and Anthony Jung, who were both named on the bench. Romano Schmid played between Dinkci and Agu on the flanks, in behind Niclas Füllkrug. Milos Veljkovic, Abdenego Nankishi and Nicolai Rapp were all available for the game. Another Werder player born in Osnabrück, Niklas Schmidt, was also facing his old side, .
Starting XI: Zetterer – Füllkrug, Agu, Schmid, Toprak, Schmidt, Mai, Friedl, Mborn, M. Eggestein, Dinkci.
Bench: Dos Santos Haesler – Jung, Veljkovic, Schönfelder, Nankishi, Park, Gruev, Woltemade, Groß.
First-half highlights:
2’: The first chance comes for SVW straightaway! Eren Sami Dinkci puts the ball into the penalty box from the right-hand side, Niclas Füllkrug initially misses and then Philipp Kühn fails to bring the ball under control. This unfortunately takes Felix Agu by surprise, and the ball rebounds off him and behind for a goal kick.
5’: Osnabrück get the first corner of the game as a cross into the box is easily dealt with by Werder. However, the resulting set piece is more dangerous. Ba-Muaka Simakala crosses it in from the left and Marc Heider’s effort isn't far off.
9’: A quick attack on the right. Omar Haktab Traoré plays the ball into Felix Higl, who shoots the ball just centimetres past the left post.
22’: Werder hearts stop for a brief moment. Michael Zetterer fractionally misjudges the VfL Osnabrück corner, and Lukas Gugganig has a headed chance that rattles the bar.
42’: A good free-kick position for SVW on the top of the box. Marco Friedl takes aim but Philipp Kühn dives to punch the ball away.
44’: A corner is met by the head of Lukas Gugganig, and the flick-on finds Maurice Trapp, who heads past Zetterer to make it 1-0 to VfL Osnabrück.
45+2’: Half-time in Osnabrück!
Second-half highlights:
46’: Maximilian Eggestein sends a cross from the right into the box. Niclas Füllkrug climbs highest and heads onto the crossbar!
47’: Füllkrug gets his head on another cross, but this time heads wide of the goal.
65’: Marco Friedl picks up the ball on the left and puts the ball into the middle. Again, the ball ends up with Füllkrug, but his shot is saved by Philipp Kühn.
69’: A free-kick in a good position for Osnabrück, but Lukas Gugganig puts the ball over from the edge of the penalty area.
75’: Nicolai Rapp gets his head onto a cross from Füllkrug, but he hits the post! The Green-Whites have done more than enough to earn an equaliser, but the ball is just not going in.
89’: Abdenego Nankishi tries a speculative effort from outside the box, but the ball flies over the crossbar.
90+2’: Unbelievable. Rapp hits the post yet again in injury time!
90+5’: Michael Zetterer is a long way off his line. Sven Köhler sees it and has a go from just inside his own half, somehow finding the net to make it 2-0.
90+7’: The full-time whistle goes in Osnabrück.
Match summary: In a fast-paced, incident-filled first half, both sides enjoyed their share of chances in the first half hour in particular. Our hosts increased the pressure towards the end of the half, culminating in them taking the lead with a header from Maurice Trapp. After the interval, Werder had much more possession and dominated the game, hitting the woodwork three times – Füllkrug in the 46th minute and Rapp in both the 75th and in injury time. The ball simply refused to go in for the Green-Whites. Then, in the last minute of added time, Osnabrück doubled their advantage with a goal from the halfway line.
