Freiburg’s coach Christian Streich gave consolation to the brave losers from Sandhausen, his footballers were able to rejoice enthusiastically with their own fans about being in the quarter-finals again. Nils Petersen grabbed the megaphone, clapped along with the fans and was just happy after his first goal. His teammate Philipp Lienhart puzzled in front of the “Sky” microphone whether he paved the way for the hard-fought 2-0 (0-0) win in the round of 16. “I don’t know, I would take the goal,” said the Austrian. “In the end we rewarded ourselves and that’s important.”
Freiburg had never scored before the 82nd minute in the previous rounds – and that’s how it was again this time: After a corner by Vincenzo Grifo, Lienhart was correct – but the goal was scored as an own goal by Sandhausen’s attacker Hamadi Al Ghaddioui (87th minute). ). Petersen then eliminated the last doubts with his goal in added time.
“We’re really happy that we’re through,” said Freiburg’s sporting director Jochen Saier. In front of 11,782 spectators, Sandhausen braced itself against the impending end, but in the end missed out on reaching the last eight for the first time since the 1985/86 season.
Coach Streich had already feared that the SVS would be well prepared for Freiburg’s attacking efforts. “We know what’s coming. You will be well adjusted. Among other things, because Alois is the coach there,” he said about his colleague Alois Schwartz the day before the Baden-Württemberg duel. You know and appreciate each other. During their playing days they trained together at the Stuttgarter Kickers and later Schwartz sat in on his leave of absence in Nuremberg at Streich im Breisgau.
Small chance for Sandhausen
And the SC coach should be right. The SVS held back compactly and the Sport-Club only managed two promising final positions through Roland Sallai (5th/6th). The Hungarian, who initiated many actions on the right wing, was one of five new players compared to the 5-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund last Saturday.
Schwartz had accepted the underdog role without hesitation, but at the same time saw a small opportunity for his team. “They have now lost twice away from home,” he said just before the game. “I hope that the self-confidence is not quite so high. We need a good day, a good goalkeeper, a bit of match luck. Then maybe we have a chance.”
Streich’s displeasure
However, the SVS had to wait more than half an hour for a chance to score. Most of the time, the ball won in their own half was quickly returned because the North Badeners acted much too hectically. Janik Bachmann fired the first shot on goal (33′). However, this was not a problem for U21 international goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, who deputized for first-choice goalkeeper Mark Flekken at Sport-Club.
However, Freiburg continued to struggle and Streich loudly vented his displeasure with gestures and shouts. In the minutes before the break, his team picked up the pace again, but Michael Gregoritsch aimed his shot too high (37′) and former SVS pro Lukas Kübler also headed wide (41′).
Even after the change of sides, Freiburg sometimes had more than 70 percent possession of the ball. The sixth in the Bundesliga did not do enough with his overweight. Streich reacted and brought in a second striker in Lucas Höler, but Vincenzo Grifo had the most dangerous chance. The shot was blocked by an SVS defender (70′). In the end, however, the favorites still celebrated because the ball bounced off Al Ghaddioui’s arm and into their own goal. Substitute Petersen also scored in added time.
