Werder’s fans come threateningly close to Augsburg’s goalkeeper after a penalty save
Werder Bremen simply can’t win at home anymore. On the contrary: The North Germans suffered a defeat against FC Augsburg. The Augsburgers celebrate a victory that is also extremely important for their coach. Shortly before the end it gets heated.
Dhe FC Augsburg has successfully stopped its negative trend in the Bundesliga and thus extended Werder Bremen’s home run. After three defeats in a row, Ermedin Demirovic (63rd) made it 1-0 (0-0) at Werder Bremen with his goal on Friday.
This should not only reduce relegation worries for the time being, but also the pressure on FCA coach Enrico Maassen. Maassen was all the more excited because his goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz saved a hand penalty from Marvin Ducksch (90+5) in added time.
Then it got turbulent, some Werder fans even stormed behind the Pole’s goal for a short time. The nerves were on edge, the game seemed to escalate for a few moments, the scenes should have had a threatening effect on the Augsburg goalkeeper in particular. “It’s too hot for me. That had nothing to do with football,” said Werder striker Niclas Füllkrug. He also criticized referee Martin Petersen: “He lost his line a bit, became too petty, acted hastily.”
Augsburg goalkeeper Gikiewicz spoke of “disrespect” on the Bremen side, and his family had been insulted by the fans: “You can’t insult my family or me personally. I can’t accept that.” That’s why he provoked with gestures. “That’s football. They insult me the whole second half, that’s my answer,” said the goalkeeper.
Celebrated support: Augsburg goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz celebrates the victory with Maximilian Bauer, Elvis Rexhbecaj and Florian Niederlechner
Source: dpa/Carmen Jaspersen
Werder is therefore still waiting for their first Bundesliga home win in around 18 months and also missed out on a place in the European Cup. As is so often the case this season, Bremen seemed anything but stable. Due to mistakes in the construction, Augsburg was repeatedly invited to counter-attacks, and the chain of three was not permanently safe either.
Werder’s goalkeeper had to leave the field after half an hour
As a relegation candidate, the Augsburgers did not appear in front of 41,000 spectators in the Weser Stadium for a long time. Maassen’s team attacked the hosts high and early, provoking mistakes in Werder’s defence. After eight minutes, Augsburg already had three chances.
The best of them was missed by Florian Niederlechner (8th), who had rounded Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka – but then missed the ball. The Czech didn’t have to endure more dangerous situations because he was substituted after half an hour due to a thigh problem. This is how Michael Zetterer made his Bundesliga debut.
As is so often the case this season, Bremen seemed anything but stable. Due to mistakes in the construction, Augsburg was repeatedly invited to counter-attacks, and the chain of three was not permanently safe either. Nevertheless, Werder stabilized and almost took the lead. Niclas Füllkrug’s headed goal (31st) was disallowed after viewing the video images: Anthony Jung had previously blocked two opponents from offside in the penalty area.
It didn’t develop into a high-class, but entertaining game. It had rained heavily before kick-off, which regularly provoked technical errors on both sides. Sometimes Werder were negligent, sometimes the ball jumped too far away from Augsburg – which repeatedly resulted in dicey situations. However, both teams hardly created any clear chances. Until the Augsburgers had a brilliant moment.
Werder had already cleared an FCA corner and advanced when Carlos Gruezo played a superb pass behind the Bremen defence. Mergim Berisha only had to lay across to Demirovic in the centre, the striker sank from close range. A little later, Berisha almost made it 2-0, but his lob (76′) hit the crossbar. It wasn’t just getting heated up in the stands. Werder pushed for the equalizer – and almost got rewarded. Augsburg’s farmer grabbed the ball in the penalty area, but Ducksch missed the penalty.
