SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
When all was said and done, it was a case of what might have been: SV Wehen Wiesbaden left the Bielefelder Alm stadium empty-handed after losing 1-0 (0-0) to league leaders Arminia Bielefeld in front of a crowd of 22,373 fans. The only goal of the afternoon was scored by Fabian Klos in the 74th minute.
Head coach Rüdiger Rehm opted to send out the same XI that drew at home to SpVgg Greuther Fürth last weekend. Medic and Lorch moved into the matchday squad to replace the injured Friede and Rivero.
The first noteworthy attack of the match was initiated by SVWW in the third minute: Mockenhaupt did well to win the ball in midfield and play a pass to Schäffler on the right wing, who sent in a dangerous delivery towards the near-post which was ultimately cleared to safety by a Bielefeld defender.
The game soon settled down after this lively opening sequence. Bielefeld controlled possession, but SVWW did well to keep their defensive shape and prevent the hosts from getting the ball into dangerous areas while also looking to hit their opponents on the counter every time they won the ball back. Nonetheless, neither of the two sides were able to fashion much in the way of goalscoring opportunities in the opening half hour or so. But then, in the 28th minute, Chato slipped a neat pass into the path of Stefan Aigner on the right wing, who sent a cross into the near-post area from the byline. Maximilian was well-positioned, but he failed to make the right connection and his effort ended up flying wide of the far post. Not long afterwards, Kyereh and Dittgen linked up well down the left-hand side but were unable to convert their combination play into a shot on goal (32).
The closing 15 minutes of the first half were certainly livelier than that what had come before. Amos Pieper came close to opening the scoring for the hosts after meeting an inswinging corner from the left with a powerful header which flew just wide of the target. Two minutes later, Bielefeld found themselves through on goal only to be called back for an offside. As it was, the two sides went in at the break with the score tied at 0-0.
Arminia Bielefeld came out of the dressing after half-time with a renewed spring in their step. They came close to finding the back of the net from two back-to-back corners: in the 48th minute, the SVWW defence was able to clear the ball from the danger area, while in the 50th, SVWW goalkeeper Lindner was on hand to deny Clauss from close range.
However, the best chance of the game thus far fell to the Red & Blacks in the 55th minute. Daniel Kofi Kyereh was able to beat Bielefeld goalkeeper Ortega Moreno to a through ball. He then fired a shot which flew over the stranded keeper's head but, unfortunately for SVWW, it ended up hitting the woodwork as opposed to the back of the net. A few minutes later, SVWW threatened once more. Some nice link-up play between Chato and Schwede led to a cross being played onto the head of Schäffler, who was unable to generate enough power to really threaten the keeper. Then, in the 65th minute, Kyereh forced Moreno into an excellent save with a volley near the edge of the box.
By this point, the game had opened up completely. Both teams were doing all they could to score the all-important opening goal. In the end, it was Arminia who would ultimately find it. Just after having a goal ruled out by the referee, the hosts poured men forward once more. The ball was played into the box, where Fabian Klos was on hand to head the ball home and make it 1-0.
SVWW pushed hard for an equaliser, sending on an additional striker in the form of Philipp Tietz. However, despite their best efforts, the Red & Blacks were unable to find the goal their hard-working performance would have deserved. The match ended in a 1-0 win for the hosts.
SVWW: Lindner – Mrowca, Mockenhaupt, Dams, Röcker (85, Ajani), Schwede – Aigner (89, Knöll), Chato, Kyereh, Dittgen (79, Tietz) – Schäffler