Having barely drawn breath from Matchday 19, the Frauen-Bundesliga team were all back in midweek action, Wolfsburg able to confirm a top-two finish against Essen and both Potsdam and Munich kept their dreams of the Champions League alive. Elsewhere, Hoffenheim claimed their seventh win of the year and wins for both Frankfurt and Freiburg put distance between themselves and the seven sides below them.
USV Jena 0-2 SC Freiburg
SCF made it five wins on the bounce as they took to the pitch at the Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld in the early kick-off against a Jena team that were hoping to see their own good performances continue. Lina Magull got the visitors off to the perfect start six minutes in as she hit her eleventh goal in the league this season, tucking home from close range after some lovely build-up play incorporating Clara Schöne, Carolin Simon and Sandra Starke.
Though all the traffic wasn’t one-way, Jena struggled to find their best against the Sport Club and the visitors made them play when Cinzia Zehnder volleyed Schöne’s flick-on into the roof of the net at a corner seconds after coming on.
Despite a few nervy moments towards the end that saw Ivana Rudelic skew her shot just wide of the far post and Lena Petermann forced to clear off of the line with Amber Hearn closing in, the visitors held out, now unbeaten in their last eight.
1899 Hoffenheim 1-0 SC Sand
Able to win back-to-back games for the first time this season, Hoffenheim did well to see the match out against a strong Sand team. Cannoning the woodwork fifteen minutes in, Stephanie Breitner did wonderfully well to get her free kick up and over but the ball refused to drop soon enough and pinged off of Sabrina Lang’s crossbar. But it wasn’t long until the opposite frame was shaking, Laura Feiersinger’s thunderous header catching the underside of the bar before bouncing out as Martina Tufeković hurried back to her line. Tufeković a match to all the visitors could throw at her throughout the match.
The decisive moment came six minutes before the break when Leonie Pankratz took off running down the left flank, fast closed down by her marker, Pankratz managed to get the ball out of her feet sixteen yards out and sent her cross-cum-shot spinning over Lang and into the far corner. Up but not comfortable, the hosts had to weather a storm in the second-half, Sand’s Austrian contingent keeping the defence honest, though the last real chance fell to Hoffenheim, Martina Moser’s close range header drawing a snap save from Lang.
VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 SGS Essen
Looking like the strongest team in the league, Wolfsburg weren’t having things all their way at home to Essen, Nina Brüggemann needed to block Ewa Pajor’s early effort after the young Polish international had slipped the ball past Lisa Weiß. The goalkeeper kept busy as she sent a firm effort from Alex Popp over for a corner before Essen broke, cutting through the midfield well before Manjou Wilde fluffed her shot and fired wide.
Despite the mistake from Wilde, Essen had shown themselves to be dangerous and soon they took the lead, Linda Dallmann able to pick out Lea Schüller with a fine cross-field ball. With Nilla Fischer in front of her, Schüller took a touch to wrong-foot the defender before sweeping the ball across her body and dragging it into the corner.
But, just as they showed against Jena, Essen are highly suspect from the kick-off and the Wolves instantly responded, when Caroline Hansen well picked out by Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir. The winger able to shake off the defence before sending the ball whizzing across the face of goal, underneath both Weiß and her defence, Popp with the connection that ricocheted off of Pernille Harder and into the roof of the net.
From then on it was all the hosts, Harder’s ball across sent whizzing just past the far post at the end of the half before Pajor hammered her header home at a Hansen corner ten minutes after the break. Both Popp and Pajor came close again before the match drew to a close, the former forced off with a head injury fifteen minutes before time. The result confirms that Wolfsburg will feature in the 2017-18 edition of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, their sixth season on the bounce.
MSV Duisburg 1-2 FFC Frankfurt
Able to dominate the first-half, Frankfurt got off to a flying start in Duisburg, Jackie Groenen with space to strike low into the bottom corner from the edge of the area, the visitors up less than ten minutes in.
A long ball over the top proved to be the catalyst for FFC’s second goal, when Lena Nuding came steaming out of her box to clear, her header more up than out, the visitors massed in the attacking third getting the ball down. Mandy Islacker able to nod the ball on for Yūki Nagasato in the box, her header crossing the line before Rahel Kiwic flew into the net in an attempt to clear it.
Unperturbed by the first-half, Duisburg came out well after the break and persistent work saw the hosts cut the deficit in two, Stefanie Weichelt able to convert Lisa-Marie Makas’ lay-off with ease, Frankfurt overloaded in their own box. Though MSV were determined to get an equaliser over the last fifteen minutes they just couldn’t find a clinical touch, Cara Bösl more than happy to deal with their average efforts.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-2 Turbine Potsdam
Like Bayern, the Turbines were looking to take all three points from one of the bottom two in the league, a confirmed spot in the top-two on the line. The visitors started well against a Leverkusen team that were staring relegation in the face, early pressure saw both Svenja Huth and Felicitas Rauch come close, Anna Klink able to keep both out. But there was only so much Klink could do when Tabea Kemme picked out the far corner from eight yards, the converted full-back able to chip her from inside the box for Potsdam’s second goal, just before the break.
Determined to go down fighting, Leverkusen showed more hunger after the break, Lisa Schwab more than happy to pounce on a carless pass from Lisa Schmitz before the two had a set-to in the box. The yellow card Katrin Rafalski waved at the Turbine keeper, a let off for the visitors, Schmitz arguably should have been sent off. The foul also gifted Bayer a chance back into the game, Merle Barth able to take her tally to four for the year with her third penalty as she punched the ball into the middle of the net.
After the visitors had missed a handful of chances, Barth was involved again late in the game when she caught Huth in the home box. However, the second penalty of the game didn’t result in the goal to close out the tie, Inka Wesely's effort from 12 yards weakly struck low and central, Klink able to protect her goal once more. Without a cushion, Potsdam were still able to see the game out and keep their noses ahead of Bayern, Leverkusen barely treading water at the other end of the table.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-3 Bayern München
Still looking to pip Potsdam to second in the league, Bayern got off to a shaky start when ten minutes in Madeline Gier struck one from 40 yards that had Manuela Zinsberger backtracking, the keeper happy to see the shot just curl over the bar before landing on the roof of her net. But the hosts were done there and a poor pass in front of their own box saw Liv Aerts nip in and get her shot away, Zinsberger able to get enough on the weak finish to divert shot wide for a corner.
Where Aerts and Gladbach had been poor with their finish, Vanessa Bürki excelled, the attacker who’s struggled with injuries this season looking sharp as ever as she arrived on a blocked ball to thump her shot into the waiting net. Vivianne Miedema denied by a goal-line body block by Aerts five minutes later before Sara Däbritz sent her shot just wide.
Having found their footing in the match, Bayern continued to create, though Bürki’s aim was slightly off when she found space after the break, her whipped shot skewing just over the bar. However, soon the pressure told and the visitors hit Gladbach for a quick-fire brace after the hour Anna Gerhardt able to pick out the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Two goals down and not looking like making a come-back, Miedema sealed the win three minutes later, wiggling in front of the box for room the Dutch attacker laid the ball off for Lisa Evans. The Scottish international happy to whip the ball into the box for it to be well met by Miedema who’d sprinted into the six-yard box before jumping well to smash her header past Christina Bellinghoven.
Still just a single point off of Potsdam, their showdown this weekend is set to be the most decisive of the season.
