Before the regular league action resumed during this week, there were two cup quarterfinals as well as one make-up game on the schedule. In the cup competition 1.FFC Frankfurt had an easy task to solve. They travelled to sixth-place 2. Bundesliga club FSV Gütersloh. The giant favorites, who announced the signing of Swiss striker Ana Maria Crnogorcevic (Hamburger SV) that day, had no problem to qualify, but struggled more than expected in a 4-0 win with the first three goals coming off set pieces.
U-20 world champion Svenja Huth decided the game with two strikes after about 30 minutes. A little surprise happened in the other quarterfinal when Bayern Munich advanced with a 3-0 win over FCR Duisburg with all goals being scored in the final 20 minutes of the game. In the semis, 1.FFC Frankfurt will host SC Bad Neuenahr, while Bayern Munich expects Turbine Potsdam.
A surprise also happened in the league during this week. Bottom-dweller Herforder SV celebrated its first win of the season in the 16th try when they defeated SC Bad Neuenahr, 4-2. The regular league action resumed on Saturday when FCR Duisburg hosted SC Bad Neuenahr. Both teams wanted to overcome their disappointments of the week, but also this game showed that Bundesliga started playing way too early in the winter. The pitch in Duisburg reminded of African steppe, which made controlled soccer nearly impossible. The favorites won, 2-0, on goals by Inka Grings.
Sunday started with a game that had to be canceled. Wolfsburg suffered new snow, which made the game against Hamburg impossible. The weather was better elsewhere. In the morning games, Essen lost, 2-1, to Bayern Munich, and Saarbrücken tied Herford, 2-2. In the Essen vs. Munich game, the hosts were the better team. but were unable to convert their chances. A great shot from the boxline by Julia Simic cared for Bayern’s lead. A questionable penalty kick decision right after the half led to the second goal. Essen answered quickly and had plenty of chances to equalize like a powerful shot against the crossbar, but in the end they suffered from not converting their opportunities. At least Essen delivered the positive news that former Philadelphia Charge player Melanie Hoffmann extended her contract.
In an important game for the relegation fight, Saarbrücken only came away with one point against Herford. FCS looked like the secure winner, especially after scoring the 2-0 lead in the 77th minute, but two goals within the last minutes made the road team collect a point.
The top teams played Sunday afternoon. Frankfurt played at Bayer Leverkusen and came to a 4-0 win with all goals being scored in the second half. Jessica Landström opened the scoring after 57 minutes, Dszenifer Maroszan and Kerstin Garefrekes (two) added for the final score.
The thriller of this matchday took place in the duel of the only East German teams in the league, FF USV Jena and Turbine Potsdam. Jena even led, 1-0, at halftime on a goal by Genoveva Anomna. The top seeds turned it around in the second half on goals by Anja Mittag and a penalty kick by Jennifer Zietz. Yet Jena fought back and again Anomna tied the game in the 82nd. A draw would not have been enough to keep Potsdam on top but a last-minute goal by Viola Odebrecht rescued Turbine.
With four games left to play, the standings look like this:
1 Potsdam, +31, 46 pts
2 Frankfurt, +68, 45 pts
3 Duisburg, +32, 41 pts
…
8 Leverkusen, -26, 17 pts
9 Essen, -16, 16 pts
10 Saarbrücken, -34, 14 pts
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11 Jena, -31, 12 pts
12 Herford -45, 5 pts
(Herford and Jena have one game more to play, a direct comparison in a make-up game)