By Olaf Goldbecker – During the week, leading Turbine Potsdam had to suffer a setback and missed the big chance to increase the gap in the standings when they only drew, 1-1, at Hamburger SV. After Jennifer Zietz missed a penalty kick in the first half, it was Hamburg that scored the lead by winter acquisition Aylin Yaren. Potsdam woke up and tied it on a goal by Patricia Hanebeck. Yet, HSV had the bigger chances and hit the crossbar short before the end of the match.
Weather and cancelled games still are a topic in Germany. Today’s game between Bad Neuenahr and Wolfsburg had to be postponed due to field conditions.
Today, Potsdam continued to struggle. In the match of the top against last-place team of the league, Bayer Leverkusen, Turbine only managed to gain one point in a 1-1 draw. Bayer Leverkusen, with the new winter acquisitions Sally Shipard and Katie Bethke, plus several players returning from injuries, battled hard and scored the lead on a goal from Eunice Beckmann. Viola Odebrecht tied the game quickly after, but in the second half, they had even more trouble with the visitors.
Frankfurt had the expectedly easy task against Lok Leipzig that started with the three new winter additions Katie Kelly, Anna Green, and Jenista Clark. Lira Bajramaj opened the scoring after 12 minutes and then Leipzig’s resistance faded. Sandra Smisek increased the score in the first half, while Melanie Behringer and Kerstin Garefrekes added in the 10 minutes after the break, which sealed the 4-0 final score.
FCR Duisburg, are usually in the headlines for players who leave after the season, but against Hamburg they proved to be awake right from the start. After 120 seconds, Kozue Ando scored the lead for her team, and a quarter hour later Mandy Islacker increased. Hamburg did not surrender. Defender Henrike Meiforth put her team on the scoreboard with her first Bundesliga goal. Still, Duisburg had the quick answer. Luisa Wensing cared for the 3-1 halftime lead, which held up for the final score.
An important three points were collected in the relegation battle by FF USV Jena. Mid-table team Essen drove to the road game with the self-confidence of a good first half season and a good winter pre-season, but they might not have taken the opponent seriously enough today. Carolin Schiewe opened the scoring for Jena in the 10th minute before Essen’s Irini Ioannidou tied it after about half an hour. With a quarter hour left to play, Susanne Treml cared for the 2-1 game-winner for her team.
Bayern Munich hosted SC Freiburg in a game that only had 230 in the attendance as it was played parallel to Bayern Munich’s men’s Bundesliga top match. New forward acquisition Sarah Hagen had a shining debut in the top league as she scored the first two goals in the 3-0 win for her new club before Sylvie Banecki cared for the final goal just one minute after she entered the field.
Situation:
The league has just started and is already making the next break for the Algarve Cup. Due to Potsdam’s lost points during the week, the league got close again. Potsdam still sits on top with 32 points, but is followed by Duisburg with 29, and they still have one game more to play. Frankfurt moved to the third place with 28, yet the team to be watched is fourth-place Wolfsburg with 25 points. Wolfsburg has two games more to play compared to Potsdam and Frankfurt.
Freiburg and Essen sit on the midfield positions with 18 and 17 points. Bad Neuenahr follows with 15 and is relatively safe, and also has one game more to play, but if the clubs at the bottom now start to collect points, Bad Neuenahr also has to watch out. Bayern Munich improves to 13 points after today’s win. Jena follows with 12. Hamburg stays clear of the relegation zone with 10 points ahead of Leipzig, which is below the magic line due to goals. Despite of the surprise point today, Leverkusen still sits far down at the bottom with four points, and they already played one game more than the teams between rank 7 and 11.
The league resumes playing on March 11 with the relegation battle between Hamburg and Leipzig being the most interesting match.