Status: 08/12/2023 6:15 p.m
Bundesliga club Werder Bremen surprisingly failed in the first round of the DFB Cup. Coach Ole Werner’s team lost 3-2 (1-0) to third-division club Viktoria Köln on Saturday, despite being in the lead twice.
Frustration among the players, those in charge and the fans who had traveled with them after a wild final phase: Werder were eliminated early in the cup again. For the sixth time in the past 13 years, the Hanseatic League failed right at the start and are now the sole record holder with eleven first-round defeats as a first division team against a lower-class club.
“Of course it will take a few days before the disappointment is put away,” said Werner after the final whistle. The Bundesliga start against record champions FC Bayern Munich with the new superstar Harry Kane on Friday (8.30 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter) shouldn’t be any easier with the mortgage from the cup.
Werder outnumbered early
The guests had to play outnumbered for more than 80 minutes. After just ten minutes, Viktorias Luca Marseiler was sent steeply in the centre, Werder’s Amos Pieper was the last man to bring him down just behind the halfway line. Referee Frank Willenborg’s red card was the right decision. Shortly thereafter, Cologne scored their first goal through Donny Bogicevic (17′).
The encounter flattened out. The six-time cup winners from Bremen largely withdrew, the third division team from Cologne lacked ideas to get in front of the Bremen goal.
Ducksch with the lead before the break
With the first clear chance, the Bundesliga club then scored the opening goal shortly before the break: Leonardo Bittencourt crossed from the half field to the far post and the ball landed in a roundabout way in front of the feet of Marvin Ducksch, who scored to make it 1-0 (43.) .
After the change of sides, Viktoria was the better team and had numerous opportunities in the first ten minutes after the restart against passive Bremen. Only keeper Jiri Pavlenka prevented the deserved equalizer at this point. Werner reacted and replaced his goalscorer Ducksch in order to stabilize the defense with Christian Groß. The Bremen team rarely managed to relieve the pressure.
Balance, leadership, balance
In a phase when the guests had a little more of the game again, it was 1:1. Two Bremen players disagreed after a long ball when ex-Werderaner David Philipp came up and shot into the bottom corner (72′). Just five minutes later, Willenborg awarded Werder a penalty after Niclas Füllkrug was fouled in the penalty area. The top scorer of the past Bundesliga season gave Bremen the lead again (77′).
But in direct return it was 2:2: again the ball landed in front of Philipp’s feet after a cross, again the Werder defense was at odds, again the 23-year-old was on the spot. The striker, who was almost continuously active in Werder’s youth teams between 2014 and 2022, scored the equalizer with the pike (79th).
“We are known to be stupid and immediately get the 2:2 in a situation in which we have to explain everything away. That accompanies us,” said Füllkrug, whose future is still open, angry after the final whistle. The Werder defense made life difficult for itself again and again last season. “You have to make better use of such leads and defend better. Unfortunately, we haven’t managed to do that yet again,” stated Werner.
Ko with the final whistle
But it got even worse: With the last action of the game, Donny Bogicevic ended all Bremen cup ambitions: First Patrick Koronkiewicz easily overcame the left defense in the 94th minute, pulled into the penalty area and shot. Pavlenka was able to save to the side before Bogicevic grabbed the rebound and became Viktoria’s hero.
1st matchday, 12.08.2023 3:30 p.m
Further information
2023-08-12 19:38:22
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