SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
Despite their huge effort and fighting spirit, SV Wehen Wiesbaden crashed out of the DFB Cup in the second round. After 120 goalless minutes, it was SSV Jahn Regensburg that had fortune on its side in the penalty shoot-out at the BRITA Arena.
SVWW manager, Rüdiger Rehm, put his trust in the same starting XI that got the 2:2 draw against TSV 1860 Munich on Friday. Returning from injury, Paterson Chato and Florian Carstens started on the bench.
Without any time to settle in, both teams got straight into battle. Two minutes into the game, Erik Wekesser took aim from the left-hand side of the penalty area beside SVWW keeper Tim Boss’ goal, while Maurice Malone broke through the SSV defence after a header opportunity in the box – but it was deemed to be an offensive foul (4’).
From the start, Regensburg pressed hard in the offensive and tried to take a direct lead. The Red and Blacks continued to look for Phillip Tietz for the double pass, who distributed the ball well, but SVWW initially lacked that final punch. The defenders around captain Sascha Mockenhaupt threw themselves into the duels with full physical commitment. Ahmet Gürleyen was on the spot to deny Jan-Niklas Beste, saving the 0:0 with a strong block.
It was half an hour before SVWW had its first real goal opportunity - but this attempt certainly had it in spades. Dominik Prokop passed to Marvin Ajani on the right wing who wasted no time and crossed into the centre. Tietz got his foot to the ball but it sailed a few inches over the bar (30’).
The Red and Blacks were settling very well into their game and were becoming more confident in their passing game due to winning many challenges. A game of equals developed in which neither of the teams was found wanting. The SVWW defence was firm and, after a good start by Regensburg with a few opportunities, hardly let anything through.
Up front, it was mainly Prokop and Gianluca Korte that exuded enthusiasm, but there was no longer any real urgency with SVWW. Just before the break, Max Besuschkow caused a scary moment: Following a free kick from half-way out, the SSV midfielder put the ball against the SVWW post from a lying position - a lucky break for the hosts (45’). The game was scoreless going into the break.
The second half began as lively as the first half had ended. Both teams continuously attempted to move forward. Ajani’s sharp cross was intercepted just as it got to Malone, before Albers at the opposite end twice managed to take a shot. Gürleyen was on the spot again and even managed to win a kick-out after two strong blocks (50’). Shortly after that, Tietz suddenly fell to the ground after a duel with Jan Elvedi. While there was contact, referee Tobias Reichel decided it wasn’t sufficient to merit a penalty (52’).
The game continued to ebb and flow and both teams attempted to break through the opposite defence, with great effort but little success. So, an intense, exciting and emotionally charged second half developed, the result of which could have gone either way. While Jahn Regensburg had increasingly more possession, manager Mersad Selimbegovic’s XI just couldn’t manage to convert this to real goal opportunities.
SVWW too didn’t give up. Malone attempted to head on a pass from Tietz, but just couldn’t get to the ball properly (73’). Both defences continued to stand firm and so the teams headed resolutely towards extra time, until Malone popped up alone in front of SSV keeper, Alexander Meyer, after a strong pass from Tietz. But, the agile SVWW youngster just couldn’t put enough power behind his shot and the SSV keeper managed to keep a clean sheet (90’+1). A scoreless regular time was followed by extra time.
The physical stress of the first 90 minutes were evident with both teams on the deep grass, and as a result, there were no goal opportunities during the first half of extra time. Almost from the whistle to end the first half of extra time, the substituted Jan-Marc Schmidt was responsible for a hairy moment in the SVWW box. But, the Jahn Regensburg no. 21 put his volley shot just past the post of host keeper, Boss (105’).
In the second half of extra time, both the guests and the hosts threw everything they possibly could into each duel. While Jahn Regensburg were superior in their game, they again failed to convert their good moves to compelling goal opportunities. Kaan Caliskaner attempted a dropkick from 16 metres – over the bar (113’). At the other end of the pitch, Meyer had no problem with a distance shot from Tietz (117’).
Shortly before the end of extra time, it was Ahmet Gürleyen who once again saved off the line for SVWW and put them into the penalty shoot-out. Caliskaner had already got past Boss but the no. 3 for the Red and Blacks cleared the ball from the danger zone (118’). And so, the game was to be decided from the penalty spot.
The Regensburg team proved to have the better nerves and sank all of their penalty shots, while Phillip Tietz and Dominik Prokop were denied by the cross bar and by SSV keeper Meyer. With that, SVWW crashed out of the DFB Cup with a bitter 2:4.
SVWW: Boss – Ajani (107’ Kuhn), Mockenhaupt, Gürleyen, Kempe – Medic, Lais (62’ Chato) – Prokop, Korte (73’ Hollerbach), Malone (106’ Guthörl) – Tietz.