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Fürth’s Nick Viergever (M) and Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo (r) parted with their teams goalless. (Image: dpa)
(Photo: Daniel Löb/dpa)
Fürth – Despite a meager result at bottom of the table SpVgg Greuther Fürth, SC Freiburg has moved up to fourth place in the Champions League for at least one night.
The Bundesliga team from Breisgau had to settle for a 0-0 draw against the bottom of the league from Franconia. In front of 9884 spectators in the Ronhof sports park, Freiburg’s Roland Sallai (13th) and Janik Haberer (66th) failed on aluminum. Timothy Tillman (28th) missed the best chance for the game association.
Christian Streich has to wait for his 105th victory as SC coach and the sole club record. Fürth, on the other hand, has to hope for a football miracle at the end of the season. After 27 match days, the Franks are at 15 points. Relegation place 16 is getting further and further away.
The signs had clearly pointed to a Freiburg victory. Since April 2003, the Sport-Club has not lost any of their 13 competitive games against Fürth. In addition, the cloverleaf were missing two important regulars in playmaker Jeremy Dudziak and right-back Luca Itter.
According to the motto ‘all or nothing’, the hosts started the game briskly and pushed Freiburg well into their own half. But the last consequence in front of the goal was missing, so that the guests had the first big chance. Fürth keeper Andreas Linde was just able to deflect Sallai’s powerful shot from around 18 meters to the post.
In the Freiburg defense, national player Nico Schlotterbeck in particular kept the overview and repeatedly blocked the shots of Kleeblatt captain Branimir Hrgota (11./18.). After a cross from Jamie Leweling, which the free-standing Marco Meyerhöfer (20th) could not control, Schlotterbeck would have had no chance either.
As a result, a balanced football game developed in which the bottom of the table should have taken the lead through Tillman. After a remarkable one-two with Leweling, the 23-year-old was only saved by SC goalkeeper Mark Flekken’s foot defense. On the other side, Linde (36′) parried a close-range shot from Vincenzo Grifo.
The beginning of the second half was marked by a number of foul games. Game flow non-existent. Instead of dangerous actions in the penalty area, the fans in the Ronhof sports park saw a lot of stabbing in midfield.
The Sport-Club dominated the game against lower-ranked hosts. More than one goal from aluminum by Janik Haberer (66th) didn’t jump out for the European Cup contenders at first. A pass from goalkeeper Linde directly to the approaching Sallai (81st) could have meant the late victory for SC, which ended up being superior.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220319-99-590398/2
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