Dortmund Secure Point For Under-Fire Doll

The first half was full of passion and endeavour, spurred on by great crowd support, but the game itself lacked coherence and goal scoring opportunities.

The second half was a completely different affair with both sides going at it hammer and nail to achieve a win.  Benjamin Köhler scored the opener for the home side just 42 seconds after the restart, only for Jakub Blaszczykowski to grab the equaliser five minutes later.

Both sides went all-out for the three points but had to be content with one.  The result brings to an end a run of two successive defeats for Frankfurt, while the point for Dortmund might take a little of the pressure off of under-fire trainer Thomas Doll.

First Half

Good early pressure from the home side had Dortmund pinned back in their own half with Benjamin Köhler the first to let rip with an effort from outside the area.  Ziegler in the Dortmund goal held easily.

Dortmund in the opening minutes looked to get the ball forward to Frei and Petric as quickly and as directly as possible, but without too much precision or luck.

There was a cracking atmosphere inside the Commerzbank Arena with both sets of fans looking to get right behind their team and the players responded with an engaging opening 15 minutes.  Goal scoring chances however were few are far between with tactical discipline very much on both side’s minds.

On 23 minutes uncertainty in the Dortmund area caused concern as Köhler suddenly found himself controlling the ball in front of goal, but the Frankfurt midfielder was unable to connect properly and Marc Ziegler pounced on the ball.

The BVB defence looked increasingly creaky as a series of blunders almost let in the home side.  On 26 minutes Martin Fenin turned in the area and unleashed a goal-bound shot, which was blocked by Rukavina.  Minutes later Kovac and Ziegler dithered over a ball and were lucky that no Frankfurt player was on the spot to profit.

The clearest chance of the first half though was created by Dortmund on 40 minutes with Mladen Petric taking the ball down the left before cleverly picking out Tinga in the middle.  The Brazilian however, couldn’t keep his shot down and the opportunity was wasted.

Shortly after, Michael Fink latched onto a fine pass from Martin Fenin to shoot from distance but his effort never really troubled the Dortmund goal.

Second Half

The second half got off to a lightning quick start with Eintracht Frankfurt taking the lead just 42 seconds after the restart.  The home side worked the ball wide to Patrick Ochs, whose fine cross was nodded past Marc Ziegler by Benny Köhler, the smallest player on the Frankfurt side.

A minute later Dortmund looked to react immediately with Kruska blasting a tremendous shot against the bar.  Thomas Doll’s side did however get themselves back level on 51 minutes.

A great pass from Kruska into the penalty area saw three Dortmund players beat the Frankfurt offside trap and it was the Pole Blaszczykowski who plucked the ball from the air before calmly firing past Pröll in the Eintracht goal.

If the first half was short on goal scoring action, the first ten minutes of the second was overflowing with them.  The next great chance fell to the visitors on 53 minutes when Dede sent in a well delivered cross to the open Petric.  The Croatian rose well, but was denied by an amazing reflex save from keeper Pröll.

The equaliser seemed to really unsettle Frankfurt which was understandable having lost their last two home games 3-1 after going 1-0 up.  Dortmund looked to exploit their increasing errors and losses of possession and were the more dangerous side going forward.

Blaszczykowski and Petric both had chances on goal but, but ‘Kuba’ saw his effort blocked, while Petric’s shot flew narrowly wide of the Frankfurt goal.

Six minutes from time, substitute Caio forced Marc Ziegler into a fine save with his feet after Brazilian danced into to the area before trying to poke a shot past the BVB keeper.

Neither side looked content to settle for a point and Eintracht very nearly secured all three on the counter attack on 86 minutes.  Substitute Marcel Heller combined well with Patrick Ochs, and the full back’s shot was destined for the top corner of the goal, before a superb diving save from Marc Ziegler saved Dortmund.

In the end the draw was the fair result on the balance of play, with both sides contributing to a very entertaining game, particularly in the second half.

Goals:

1-0 Köhler (46)

1-1 Blaszczykowski (51)

Eintracht Frankfurt: Pröll, Ochs, Russ, Galindo, Spycher, Fink, Inamoto, Köhler, Weissenberger (Caio 69), Fenin (Heller 82), Amanatidis

Borussia Dortmund: Ziegler, Rukavina, Wörns, Kovac, Dede, Blaszczykowski (Valdez 80), Tinga, Kruska, Kringe (Buckley 70), Frei (Klimowicz 70), Petric

source: goal.com

Frings injured – ‘No-Go’ in Karlsruhe

Werder Bremen had only just begun to enjoy the sight of an ever emptier treatment room and all of a sudden, it’s one very important man richer. The Bundesliga game against Karlsruhe SC will take place without the services of German international Torsten Frings. The 31 year old was able to complete the final pre-match training session on Friday, but had to pass on any hope of being involved on Saturday due to an ankle injury.

Frings picked up the injury during training on Thursday: “We had hoped that things would develop decidedly better but that wasn’t to be the case. He was able to train with us today, and he gave his all, but he’s just not in any condition to withstand the strain of a match,” explained trainer Thomas Schaaf, who had a special eye on his vice-captain during the session: “It was clear to see from his movement that he was carrying a knock.”

That considered, the following 18 players will make the trip to Karlsruhe:

Wiese, Pasanen, Naldo, Vranjes, Fritz, Rosenberg, Diego, Özil, Tosic, Owomoyela, Klasnic, Sanogo, Jensen, Almeida, Borowski, Niemeyer, Mertesacker, Vander.

source: werder.de

Click here to view Torsten Frings’s profile with pictures and videos

Karlsruhe – Werder Bremen preview

With five games left until the end of the season, both sides will be looking for three points to push towards their targets.

Karlsruhe will want to finish as high in the top half of the table as they can, while Werder will want to hold onto second place to guarantee Champions League football next season.  An exciting game awaits at the Wildparkstadion.

Time To Finish On A High

Most Bundesliga fans must have been rubbing their eyes in disbelief on Matchday 9 when looking at the league table.  Newly promoted Karlsruhe had just beaten the previous season’s title challengers Schalke to sit second in the table.

Twenty one games later the table looks a little more familiar with the usual suspects occupying the top seven, while Edmund Becker’s team from Baden have dropped down to a still respectable 10th.  With 41 points on the board, KSC already find their Bundesliga status safe for next season with five games to go.

If fans at the Wildparkstadion had been offered that at the start of the season, they probably would have snapped your hand off, but there is a slight feeling of regret amongst the players and coaching staff as to what could have been.

Even well after the winter break had finished the Karlsruhe success story didn’t look like being a flash in the pan.  On Matchday 22, they still held fifth place in the Bundesliga, and had their eyes very firmly fixed on a Uefa Cup place.

However, the long-awaited dip in form did arrive with a run of six games without a win and four defeats amongst those.  The lull in form coincided with increased speculation as to the futures of some of their key players next season.  Tamas Hajnal is to join to Borussia Dortmund, while defender Mario Eggimann has agreed to join Hannover.

A 1-0 win away at Duisburg last week brought to an end that poor run of results, so KSC will be looking to continue with another positive result against Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Edmund Becker’s side lost 4-0 at the Weser Stadion back in November, but will be boosted by the fact that they are particularly strong at home against the top teams.  None of the teams currently between 2nd (Werder) and 7th have managed a win at the Wildparkstadion this season.

Werder Look To Secure Second

At the winter break, Werder Bremen found themselves level on points with Bayern Munich at the top of the table and seemingly poised to take the Bavarians all the way in the title race.

With five games remaining Werder still lie second, but are now a full ten points behind Ottmar Hitzfeld’s champions elect having all but conceded the title to their fierce rivals.

Five defeats in nine games following the restart in February saw the Green and Whites drop down as low as fifth and look in real danger on missing out on the Champions league for the first time in many years.  However, three consecutive wins have seen them reclaim second spot, but that has a lot to do with the less than sparkling form shown by the likes of Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.

The task for Thomas Schaaf’s side now is to hold onto second place and that starts with taking three points from Karlsruhe on Saturday which will be no easy task.  They also have two particularly tough away trips to fellow European hopefuls Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen to come.

“The constellation could deliver a couple of good results for us but first and foremost I am focused on the task that we have to fulfil against KSC” Schaaf explained.

“When that job is done, then I will take a look at what went on in the other stadiums.  I must admit though, it is an interesting combination of games to view and see exactly how the competitors have gotten on.”

FORM GUIDE

Karlsruhe

Match	Result	Date	Championship
MSV Duisburg – Karlsruher SC	0 – 1	16/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Karlsruher SC – Hansa Rostock	1 – 2	12/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Arminia Bielefeld – Karlsruher SC	1 – 0	05/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Karlsruher SC – Schalke 04	0 – 0	29/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Borussia – Karlsruher SC	1 – 1	22/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Karlsruher SC – Eintracht	0 – 1	15/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA

Werder Bremen

Match	Result	Date	Championship
Hansa Rostock – Werder Bremen	1 – 2	15/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Werder Bremen – Schalke 04	5 – 1	12/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Hertha BSC – Werder Bremen	1 – 2	05/04/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Werder Bremen – MSV Duisburg	1 – 2	29/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Arminia Bielefeld – Werder Bremen	1 – 1	23/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA
Werder Bremen – VfL Wolfsburg	0 – 1	16/03/2008	BUNDESLIGA

TEAM NEWS

Karlsruhe

Striker Joshua Kennedy has seen his season cut short with an ankle ligament tear suffered in training this week.  The Australian winter signing had scored five goals this season following his switch from Nürnberg.  Edmond Kapllani, who has yet to score this season looks set to replace him.

South African Bradley Carnell is also out with an adductor injury, but Edmund Becker will be able to call upon Maik Franz and Michael Mutzel, who both return from injury.

Probable starting XI: Miller, Görlitz, Eggimann, Franz, Eichner, Mutzel, Aduobe, Staffeldt, Hajnal, Freis, Kapllani

Werder Bremen

The return of Peter Niemeyer from injury means that trainer Thomas Schaaf only has two players absent from his squad- Sebastian Boenisch and Frank Baumann.

Danish midfielder Daniel Jensen looks set for a return to first team action following thee weeks out with a muscular injury.  He could be the one to replace Baumann.

Probable starting XI:  Wiese, Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen, Frings, Jensen, Borowski, Diego, Rosenberg, Sanogo

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Karlsruhe- Mario Eggimann

Despite the fact that that Eggimann has already agreed to join Hannover next season, the Swiss international defender has vowed to do all he can to ensure that Karlsruhe’s season finishes on a high note rather than  fizzle out like a damp squib.  Opponents Werder come into the game on the back of three wins with nine goals scored, so Eggimann will be called upon to act upon his rallying call.

Werder Bremen- Diego

The Brazilian as always is Werder’s key man.  His skill, vision and pure ability can turn any game in Werder’s favour and with him still making almost daily denials of wanting a move away from the Weser Stadion and being spotted recently looking to buy new house in the area, Werder fans will be looking forward to seeing yet another dazzling season from their midfield maestro, and hopefully win something with him.

source: goal.com

Niemeyer returns – just two names left on the injury list

Peter Niemeyer is back in training. The 24 year old, who picked up a thigh injury eleven days ago playing for Werder’s reserve team, got through the complete training session, together with his team mates, without any major problems.

“I can still feel a slight twinge in the adductor area but I’ll get over that. I just hope now to be able to avoid a further forced lay-off,” explained Niemeyer on his way back towards the changing rooms.

With the return of the midfielder, trainer Thomas Schaaf is now missing just two of his first team players, in the form of club captain Frank Baumann and Sebastian Boenisch. Both went through individual training programmes on Thursday.

source: werder.de

A tricky trip in store

For those who took a glance at the Bundesliga table back on the ninth match day of the season, there was something of a shock in store. Newly promoted Karlsruhe SC had just travelled to FC Schalke and notched up their sixth win of the season to take over second place. Some 21 match days later, the situation at the top has taken on a more familiar look. KSC are now in a respectable tenth position and with 41 points to their credit, with five games to go, relegation is not an issue.

“KSC have impressed many people this season. There is some good work being done there,” acknowledged Werder trainer Thomas Schaaf. The team put together by Schaaf’s colleague Edmund Becker managed to quickly establish itself in top flight football.

During the course of the season, the ‘Wildparkstadion’ has become one of the most feared destinations for the other 17 teams in the league, especially those at the top of the table. None of the sides currently residing between third and seventh position have managed a win in Karlsruhe this season. Schalke, Leverkusen and Hamburg each scored a point whilst Stuttgart and Wolfsburg were both left empty handed. There is no question that there is a difficult task in store for the Green-Whites this weekend.

source: werder.de