Bayern München claim the second spot in the table and Freiburg turn the game around within 10 minutes. A lot happened during gameday 8 of the Allianz Frauen-Bundesliga. Two fixtures were moved forward in the schedule and have already been featured in our gameday 7 review.
FF USV Jena 0–4 SGS Essen
USV Jena’s interim coach Steffen Beck was mad after the game, analyzed the second half as “catastrophic.” The club’s homepage states the clear loss to Essen as “not good enough for the Frauen-Bundesliga.” It only took Essen two minutes to mark the 2-0 lead. Nicole Anyomi, who got to start for the first time, made use of her incredible pace and overran Jena’s defense, and the 16-year-old talent had no problem overcoming Kathrin Längert. Both teams had a few chances during the first half, but Jena’s were harmless and not a threat for SGS Essen. German international Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh increased the lead for the guests shortly after the second half began. And it was way too easy again. A long cross reached Doorsoun-Khajeh in the penalty area where the 25-year-old managed to control the ball and netted in from short distance after turning around its own axis. Essen’s third goal in the 70th minute was almost identical to the first one. Forward Charline Hartmann had no trouble overruning Jena’s defense and was able to pass the ball to Kozue Ando, who had all the freedom in the world to make the run toward Längert’s goal. The hosts need to work on keeping up with fast defenders and clearing the situation earlier.
Claudia van den Heiligenberg got sent off with a red card for a cynical foul after taking down Doorsoun-Khajeh during a run duel. It was the first red card for van den Heiligenberg in her career. Nina Brüggemann sealed the win for her team in the 87th minute by converting a direct free kick after Jena captain Julia Arnold cleared the ball with her hand. Good news for Jena though: they appointed former assistant coach Katja Greulich as new head coach. The 31-year-old was assistant coach in Jena before from February 2012 until summer of last year before heading to FC Rosengård. She gained a lot of international experience and signed a contract until the end of the season — for now.
Watch highlights here.
SC Freiburg 2–1 SC Sand
Two standards turned the game around and it all happened within 10 minutes. It was an even back-and-forth during the first half with both teams creating, but also neutralizing, chances. Austrian international Nina Burger brought the lead for her team in the 63th minute after a nicely placed shot from 10 yards away. Freiburg protested a foul on Chioma Igwe in that situation but the official kept playing. The lead didn’t last long, though. New German international Carolin Simon’s free kick shot found Sarah Puntigam in the 73th whose header went straight in. Just a couple of minutes later, in the 79th minute, Carolin Schiewe brought the lead for the guests after yet another free kick.
Watch highlights here.
FC Bayern München 1–0 FFC Frankfurt
The top game of last weekend’s Frauen-Bundesliga gameday was intense and showed good fighting spirit by both teams. But it was Bayern’s Nicole Rolser who made the difference in the 26th minute this time. Of note, this was the fifth time the current reigning champions win with only a one-goal difference at 1-0. The German forward took advantage of a rebound by FFC keeper Desirée Schumann and marked the important lead for the hosts. Matt Ross’ team, on the other hand, tried their hardest to keep Bayern away from their penalty area and focused on quick buildup play and passes once they won the ball. Frankfurt tried to increase the amount of pressure and managed to keep Die Bayern in their own half. They couldn’t reward their effort, though. Saskia Bartusiak’s shot in the 39th minute went far over it. Jackie Groenen and Yuki Nagasagto had chances too, but couldn’t convert. Bayern had a couple of promising counter attacks toward the end of the game with Scottish international Lisa Evans probably missing the best one. Bayern München are now second in the table with only two points behind “Spitzenreiter” Turbine Potsdam, who originally beat VfL Wolfsburg on this gameday.
Watch full game here
MSV Duisburg 1–0 TSG Hoffenheim
Lara Heß scored the only and deciding goal in the 17th minute after lobbing the ball over a defender and goalkeeper Martina Tufeković. It was Duisburg’s second win in the ongoing competition and helped them keep connection to the middle of the table. They are currently in eleventh place with only six points while the eighth-placed team also has six points. Another bitter defeat for Hoffenheim, who failed to fight against a decimated Duisburg side. Forward Lee Falkon was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the 38th minute. The missing penetrating power and consequence are still a problem. Hoffenheim couldn’t create any promising chances against a defensive Duisburg team, even though they were outnumbered for three-quarters of the game.
Watch highlights here.