Heidenheim break Werder’s unbeaten streak

Match report from the 2-1 loss at home to 1. FC Heidenheim

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Michael Zetter getting his head on the ball.

Michael Zetterer almost scored the equaliser in the dying minutes by getting his head on a corner (W.DE).

Match Report

Saturday, 10.02.2024 / 18:15

On Saturday afternoon, SV Werder Bremen dropped their first points of 2024 after losing 2-1 to 1. FC Heidenheim, who spoiled the party for the Green-Whites’ 125-year anniversary celebrations. An action-packed first half saw Lennard Maloney nod home the opener for the visitors (12’), followed closely by a second from his teammate Jan-Niklas Beste (18’). Although Romano Schmid was able to get his name on the scoresheet in the 19th minute, SVW were denied of an equaliser on multiple occasions and came away from the clash empty handed.

Line-up and formation: Head coach Ole Werner decided to keep his starting XI for the clash against Heidenheim the same as it was in the 1-0 win against Mainz. Mitchell Weiser was unfortunately not ready to be involved in the squad, which meant Olivier Deman was listed in the line-up like last week. Isak Hansen-Aarøen made his debut appearance on the bench for the Green-Whites.

Werder’s starting XI: Zetterer, Deman, Jung, Stark, Stage, Ducksch, Lynen, Njinmah, Schmid, Agu, Friedl.

Bench: Pavlenka, Kownacki, Keïta, Borré, Hansen-Aarøen, Malatini, Alvero, Woltemade, Groß.

Three goals in ten minutes

Romano Schmid celebrating his goal to make it 2-1.

Romano Schmid nodded one home for the Green-Whites (Photo: WERDER.DE).

First-half highlights:

4th minute: Stage hits the post! Werder’s number 6 pounces on Siersleben’s poor touch, drives into the penalty area, and dribbles round Müller. However, he takes one too many touches and pulls the trigger to the left of the box, meaning his strike goes just wide of the net and is denied by the woodwork.

12th minute: The visitors take the lead. Lennard Maloney rises highest in the box from Beste’s corner, and nods it home to open the scoring.

18th minute: Werder’s loan player Eren Dinkçi flies down the right wing and squares it to Beste, who is able to guide it in for the visitors. Gutting for the Green-Whites.

19th minute: A great reaction from SVW! Senne Lynen delivers a cross from the left, which finds the head of Romano Schmid in the middle. The Austrian nods it into the Heidenheim net, and Werder are back in the game.

Denied countless times by the woodwork

Rafael Borré after his attempt at scoring the equaliser.

Rafael Borré was one of many to hit the post against Heidenheim (Photo: W.DE).

Second-half highlights:

51st minute: Njinmah heads it onto Ducksch, who is able to get a shot off, but it flies wide of the net.

72nd minute: Werder almost get their equaliser! Jens Stage plays in Marvin Ducksch, who pulls the trigger, but his strike is no match for Heidenheim keeper Müller. The flag goes up for offside regardless.

77th minute: Schmid tees up Ducksch, whose shot is blocked. The rebound falls to Borré, but the Colombian fires it at the post. Unlucky!

79th minute: It’s Ducksch again, but this time from a free kick. He curls it in the direction of the Heidenheim net, but Müller tips it over the bar.

87th minute: Zetterer spots Ducksch’s forward run and launches it over to him. Werder’s number 7 takes the ball in his stride and gets a quick shot off, but Müller saves the day for the visitors once again.

90th minute +1: After only just entering the pitch, Kownacki nods Jung’s corner towards the Heidenheim goal, but his effort is denied yet again by the woodwork.

90th minute +5: In a last-minute attempt to score an equaliser, Michael Zetterer sprints up for the final corner of the game. He gets a strong head on it, but the ball flies narrowly wide of the post.

90th minute +7: Full-time. SV Werder Bremen lose 2-1 to 1. FC Heidenheim.

Summary: Heidenheim were clinical in their attack and strategic out of possession, which caused the hosts problems for the full 90 minutes. The visitors also had that little bit of luck today, as their goalposts prevented Werder from equalising on countless occasions. While Heidenheim were able to celebrate their eighth match unbeaten on the trot, SV Werder's unbeaten streak in the league in 2024 was broken on Saturday afternoon.