FIRST TEAM
10/17/2009

Bremen build as Hoffenheim crumble

Werder Bremen beat a weak Hoffenheim side with a fully deserved 2-0 victory. After Hoffenheim had the chance to take the lead with a penalty on 14 minutes through Carlos Eduardo, Bremen shocked Hoffenheim with a goal by Pizarro in the 17th minute. Werder consolidated their lead just four minutes later with a goal by Per Mertesacker. The two Bremen goals exposed 1899's weaknesses and from then on Hoffenheim played uninspired and ineffective attacking football. In the second half there was the feeling that Hoffenheim may be able to strike back. However, only the precision in the final pass prevented the North Germans from extending their lead. Hoffenheim fought to the end, remaining attacking minded but with little effect.

MATCH REPORT:

Werder Bremen continued their unbeaten Bundesliga run with a 2-0 victory over a weakened 1899 Hoffenheim side. Two goals from Claudio Pizarro and Per Mertesacker were the difference in the end as Bremen strode to a comfortable win in front of their home fans at the Weserstadion.

Despite Werder looking the more likely of the two sides to score in the opening ten minutes, it was Hoffenheim who got the first breakthrough as Bremen's keeper Wiese brought down Maicosuel in the 14th minute to concede a fairly conclusive penalty. However, a poor spot kick from Carlos Eduardo allowed Wiese to make amends for his earlier mistake. Eduardo's miss gave the home side confidence and their dominance in the final third was rewarded soon after as Claudio Pizarro nodded home a set piece corner. Just four minutes later, an Özil free kick allowed Boesnisch an unchallenged header, which fell kindly for Per Mertesacker who fumbled the ball home.

The two early goals confirmed Hoffenheim's defensive worries coming into this game and the back four were under continual pressure throughout the first half. Simunic and co. struggled with the pace and skill of Özil and Marin inparticular and Bremen's dominance continued into the second half.

Despite Werder's possession, the second half was a rather uninspired affair with neither side creating many meaningful chances. Hoffenheim seemed to find their rhythm a little more but still struggled to create in the final third. Ibisevic's free kick on 70 minutes tested Wiese, while Hoffenheim had Hildebrand to thank for stopping Özil's close range shot on 75 minutes.

Werder Bremen remain in fourth spot in the Bundesliga table, while todays defeat sees Hoffenheim slip to sixth.

POST MATCH QUOTES:

Per Mertesacker - We did a lot of things well today with the exception of the first 20 minutes. The way Hoffenheim started today confirmed that they were completely determined. We got a couple of lucky goals and we were confident at the back

Andreas Beck - Today we played better than the score line suggests.

Sebastian Boenisch - From the start we had a little bit of luck and we have Tim to thank for saving the game. We showed an all-round team performance.

Timo Hildebrand - It was a tidy first half in which we unfortunately conceded two goals. Today the deciding factor was missing. We wanted to consciously avoid the a slip in standards, but it wasn't to be.

Tim Wiese - The penalty was a wake-up call. In the second half we could've used are chances a bit more.

Jan Schindelmeiser - Scoring the penalty would've completely changed the course of the game because then Bremen would've been a goal behind. We then conceded two unnecessary goals which resulted from a drop in standards, even though we know how strong Bremen are. The game today didn't reflect how good we really are, there's a lot more quality in the team. We didn't have any focus from the outset despite the quality we've got in our side.

Thorsten Frings - The penalty certainly woke us up and consequently we scored two important goals. We didn't let much through and it was a deserved victory.

Thomas Schaaf - It took us a certain amount of time to get into the game today. After the penalty we got more into it. Both teams kept trying to take the initiative. We were good defensively today and didn't let too much through. If we can get some more rest, then we can certainly cause even more problems for our opponents. The team played outstandingly, that we proved today.

Ralf Rangnick - We started strongly. The first 20 minutes were definitely the best opening 20 minutes we've played all season. Therefore it is of course annoying that we couldn't get the opener through the penalty. You can't let Pizarro have a free header. Suddenly it was 2-0 to Werder Bremen even though the game itself didn't reflect that. Salihovic and Ibisevic travelled a lot last week and were involved in both games so I didn't play them from the start. Neither team today really tried to finish the game off today, so it finished at 2-0.

 

Match facts and statistics »

Download Now!
Print Page to top