SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
In the final game of the year, SV Wehen Wiesbaden secured three vital points in their fight to avoid relegation. The Red & Blacks edged past Karlsruher SC 1-0 in front of 12,693 fans at the Wildpark Stadium in Karlsruhe. Törles Knöll scored the precious winner in the 69th minute.
After losing to St. Pauli last weekend, SVWW head coach Rüdiger Rehm made three changes to his starting XI. Knöll made his first-ever start up front for suspended striker Manuel Schäffler. Benedikt Röcker and Gökhan Gül also came in for the injured Stefan Aigner and Marcel Titsch Rivero.
KSC started the game well in persistent rain and enjoyed the better start. But SVWW countered this robustly and with a serious portion of hardness, meaning that a shot by Marvin Wanitzek from an acute angle in the 8th minute remained virtually the only dangerous action in the opening stages.
Playing at right-back tonight, SVWW captain Sebastian Mrowca caused the first danger up the other end, but David Pisot was able to clear his cross away for a corner (10). Both teams struggled to build up play properly on a difficult pitch. However, KSC’s set-plays were always dangerous with Benedikt Röcker brilliantly clearing Damian Roßbach’s header from a Wanitzek away for a corner (16).
Karlsruhe came more and more into the game without carving out any further opportunities. After winning the ball, the Red & Blacks often had problems keeping possession themselves and therefore hardly got into any promising positions.
Around the half hour mark, the Badeners were increasingly managing to trouble the SVWW defence. In some cases, KSC players could only be stopped by tactical fouls, and after 30 minutes, three of five Red & Black defenders – Sascha Mockenhaupt, Röcker and Mrowca – had been shown the yellow card.
Five minutes before the break, SVWW ventured into the opposing half again, but Daniel-Kofi Kyereh's shot from the edge of the box was easily saved by KSC goalkeeper Benjamin Uphoff (41). KSC now started to apply some pressure with a series of attacks on Heinz Lindner’s goal. First Stiefler and then both Camoglu and Roßbach had shots blocked at the last moment or were denied by good goalkeeping from Lindner – so the score remained goalless at the break.
Rehm’s side came out after the interval with more purpose. KSC were put under pressure earlier and the Red & Blacks were also more aggressive going forward. Maximilian Dittgen left three blue & white KSC defenders in his trail on the left, but his cross was cut out by Daniel Gordon (50). Shortly after, KSC’s powerful striker Philipp Hofmann had a good chance but Heinz Lindner pushed his shot around the post (51).
Play became very patchy with both sides mainly using unsuccessful long balls, which only led to both sides quickly giving the ball away on several occasions. Substitute Nicklas Shipnoski used one of these transition phases to play a good long pass through to the onrushing Dittgen, but KSC keeper Uphoff was again the winner (62). Otherwise, chances on both sides remained scarce, even though KSC gradually regained control of the game.
Right in the middle of this phase, SVWW took the lead, Gül hammering a first-time shot on the KSC goal from Kyereh's pass. Uphoff failed to hold the shot and the onrushing Knöll poked the ball over the line to give the visitors the lead (69).
Karlsruhe – now with their backs to the wall – had to take the initiative and tried to crank up the pressure. The defensive unit built around Niklas Dams proved very sound in the second half, so that KSC hardly created any danger in front of the visitors' goal. In the meantime, with the Badeners pushing up, more and more counterattacking opportunities were available. However, SVWW were unable to carve out any meaningful goalscoring chances. Kyereh fired over the bar on the run, Shipnoski was denied by Uphoff and substitute Tobias Schwede blasted the rebound just past the post (81/84).
With all hands to the pump and plenty of fight and passion, the Red & Blacks threw themselves into every challenge to prevent a late equaliser. And SVWW were rewarded with three vital points to take into the winter break.
SVWW: Lindner – Mrowca, Mockenhaupt, Dams, Röcker, Chato – Ajani (Shipnoski, 59), Gül (Schwede, 76), Kyereh, Dittgen – Knöll (Medic, 84)