No Away Points Against Unterhaching

SV Wehen Wiesbaden had to accept defeat on the 13th match day of the 3rd Liga in their away match to SpVgg Unterhaching. After SVWW took an early lead at the Alpenbauer Sportpark through Maurice Malone (2’), the hosts turned the game around to win 2:1.

SVWW manager, Rüdiger Rehm, made one change to the starting XI in Upper Bavaria. Tobias Schwede was in the starting team for the first time this season. As a result, Benedict Hollerbach started on the bench.

The guests started the match strongly and wide awake and Schwede blended immediately into the team with a flash of genius. The newcomer volleyed a long ball from SpVgg keeper Nico Mantl directly into the path of Maurice Malone who stopped the ball with his chest and then lifted it over Mantl to put his team into an early lead (2’).

It took Unterhaching a few minutes to digest the lightning start by SVWW and to adapt to the agile play and the quick passing game of the Red and Blacks in the initial phase.  Schwede and Malone kept the Unterhaching defence busy up along the left wing. Phillip Tietz and Gianluca Korte also demanded the ball often and were very agile in moving around their attacking hosts.

After about 10 minutes, home manager Arie van Lent’s young team also got into the flow of the game better. The first action of the hosts was a corner. However, Paul Grauschopf missed by a good bit (15’). Five minutes later, ex-SVWW player, Dominik Stroh-Engel, did better. Luca Marseiler passed to Markus Schwabl whose cross from the left-hand corner of the box was slotted in by Stroh-Engel for the equalizer (20’).

The hosts were now pressing early and already putting the red and black defence under pressure in their build up. After about half an hour, both Schwabl and Patrick Hasenhüttl took a shot from a distance – no problem for Boss (31’/34’). In contrast, the guests were seldom in a good attacking position but tried to fight back into the game with their physicality. Korte and SVWW captain, Sascha Mockenhaupt, were each shown the yellow card, before referee Asmir Osmanagic blew the whistle for half time.

Without a change, SVWW had a better start to the second half, but were countered after a good attacking series. Schwable sent a long, steep pass to Marseiler, but the goalpost and the lucky fact that Anspach didn’t quite mange to control the rebound prevented the hosts going into the lead (47’). But, the Red and Blacks also had a huge opportunity shortly after the Unterhaching attempt: Korte’s header to the far post was cleared by Schwabl at the last second (48.).

The game now picked up speed and SVWW were more active, putting SpVgg under pressure early on. But, the hosts managed to escape the pressure again and again due to the calibre of their game. Schwabl got past Niemeyer on the right, his cross deflecting to Marseiler who converted it to go into a 1:2 lead from the guests’ point of view (54’).

The Red and Blacks were holding up well to prevent a defeat, but going forward it was difficult to develop penetrating power against a very steady Unterhaching defence. After 64 minutes, a solo run by Malone, who did very well to get past four defenders, was the first dangerous approach towards the goal since Korte’s header. At the opposite end of the field, the goalpost saved the guests from going two goals down. Anspach’s shot after a cross from Niclas Stierlin hit the woodwork (66’).

Manager Rehm brought on two pairs of fresh legs, the attacking players Benedict Hollerbach and Michael Guthörl, who immediately got things moving and increased the pressure on the home defence. Guthörl and Chato were both stopped at the last minute in the box when attempting to finish off, and SVWW came ever closer to another score. Unterhaching, however, continued to be a threat, even when counter attacking. An exciting final phase was in the offing.

Hollerbach was pushed hard in the SpVgg box after a corner, but Osmanagic’s whistle remained silent. In the other penalty area, Niemeyer and Boss saved jointly against Anspach, before Malone was unable to properly control the ball from a good position (82’/83’).

The Red and Blacks now threw everything they had forward, naturally offering the hosts plenty of space for counter attacking. Boipelo Mashigo used this space and, in the 90th minute he ran towards Boss but in the end, did one swerve too many and lost the ball. This gave SVWW the opportunity for a final knock-out punch, but Unterhaching threw everything they had into the shooting line of the guests. Malone and Chato tried to make something out of the pandemonium and even Boss went up the field in the closing seconds for the final SVWW corner. But, it wasn’t to be. With no further goals, the final score was 1:2.

SVWW: Boss – Kuhn (86’ Ajani), Carstens, Mockenhaupt, Niemeyer – Chato, Medic – Korte, Malone, Schwede (68’ Guthörl) – Tietz (68’ Hollerbach).