By Olaf Goldbecker
1.FFC Frankfurt v SC Bad Neuenahr 2:0 (0:0)
Frankfurt continues to win games in an unconvincing way. A crossbar shot by Lira Bajramaj after a wrong free kick decision was the best Frankfurt had to show in the first half, while Bad Neuenahr had a few chances on counter attacks. In the second half, the home team got stronger but still was not playing like a top team. A more than doubtful penalty decision helped them to get on track, Sandra Smisek converted after 71 minutes. Japanese defender Saki Kumagai decided the game with six minutes left on the clock.
Check out the rest of today’s Bundesliga’s matches:
Hamburger SV v Bayer Leverkusen 0:2 (0:0)
A bottom duel cared for Leverkusen’s first points this season. After a scoreless first half, it was Lisa Schwab with two goals in the 57th and 87th minute who decided this game and made Bayer jump out of the relegation spots.
Lok Leipzig v SC Freiburg 0:1 (0:0)
Another game with effect for the relegation fight. Freiburg needed to confirm the good start to stay away from the relegation zone after fading lately, while for Leipzig every win is a good effort in this league. Freiburg managed to pull out a close win on a goal by Finnish midfielder Essia Sainio after an hour.
FCR Duisburg – VfL Wolfsburg 3:0 (2:0)
Another major upset for Wolfsburg. Before the season, Coach Kellermann said that a lot would have to go wrong if the Wolves did not finish in the upper third of the standings – which is not far away being two points behind Essen, but being eight points behind the top teams after only five games certainly is far away from what he expected. The contrast is on Duisburg’s side who were written off before the season but stay on a perfect record and are top ranked. Today Alex Popp and Simone Laudehr led the way in the first half with goals in the 15th and 37th minute. Gülhiye Cengiz added a second half goal to ensure the win.
Turbine Potsdam v SG Essen-Schönebeck 3:2 (1:2)
Rough start for Alyssa Naeher in her Bundesliga premiere: 15 minutes played, being the clear favorite, and without any fault of her own, she already had to pick two balls out of her net. Melanie Hoffmann and Charline Hartmann were the scorers. It took Potsdam long to wake up after the Champions League trip to Iceland and once again they owe a lot to the top striker of the league, Genoveva Anomna. She scored all three goals for her team, piling up her record to eight in five games. After 37 minutes, she had her first strike, and only one minute later she hit the post. In the second half she was successful with a double strike in minutes 55 and 58. Afterwards Potsdam slowed down again. Coach Schröder only substituted once which shows how worried he was to avoid losing points against Essen.
Bayern München v FF USV Jena 1:1 (1:1)
After a bad start to the season for the Munich-based team, this club also had to count as important for the relegation endangered teams. Bayern caught the better start already scoring after 7 minutes on a penalty kick by Katharina Baunach. Yet Jena answered after 35 minutes by Julia Arnold and kept this draw until the end of the match.
Situation: Duisburg, Frankfurt, and Potsdam stay perfect on top in this order, 15 points in 5 games. Frankfurt is the only team now still having a clean sheet. The midfield starts with the fourth spot, still occupied by Essen with 9 points and is completed with Wolfsburg and Freiburg at 7 points each. The entire second half of the standing caught a bad start and needs to watch out to not face a long relegation battle. Bayern Munich and Jena lead the lower half with 4 points, followed by the three points teams Leverkusen, Hamburg and Leipzig with latter ones being on the first relegation place. Last ranked is Bad Neuenahr with two points.