It was a day of four-goal matches with Freiburg, Potsdam ad Sand putting four of the best past Jena, Hoffenheim and Duisburg as SGS claimed the spoils at home to Frankfurt. Elsewhere Munich bested Wolfsburg to take one huge step towards Champions League football next season as Werder confirmed their safety, downing Köln in the process.
USV Jena 0-4 SC Freiburg
Battling against the tide all season, there was nothing USV could do against a Freiburg team chasing down second, the host’s relegation confirmed after their heavy home loss.
A lofted free kick set the visitors on their way less than twenty minutes in, the ball left to bounce in the area for Lisa Seiler to stick a foot at in attempt to clear, the ball slipping in at the near post. Causing problems at the other end, Jena were dealt a body-blow deep in first half stoppage time when Carolin Simon stroked Lena Petermann’s low ball home. The match put to bed early in the second half when Klara Bühl took the ball out of Erin McLeod’s hands before slipping it into the empty net before Petermann added a fourth. Given space to charge into, the rangy attacker held her run well to slip behind the defence and reach a dinked ball over the top, chipping McLeod as the ‘keeper came out.
SGS Essen 3-1 FFC Frankfurt
Still struggling this year, Frankfurt saw their early lead slip away in Essen, Margarita Gidion’s fifteenth-minute gambit cancelled out by a Linda Dallmann hat-trick. The potent attacker got off of the mark five minutes after the opener, when she slipped the ball through Bryane Heaberlin’s ankles. The match turned in the favour of the hosts ten minutes after the break when Dallmann curled the ball over Heaberlin and into the top right corner from a tight angle. The 23-year-old completing her hat-trick at the death with a delicately chipped ball from just outside the area, the Esseners continuing their fine form this year.
Bayern München 2-1 VfL Wolfsburg
Having lost on penalties to Wolfsburg when the pair clashed in the Pokal final last weekend, Munich were in no mood to drop points to an injury-hit Wolfsburg side as they looked to cement their spot in the top two. Up and running in the eighteenth minute, the hosts broke through the make-shift Wolfsburg defence to claim an early lead, Melanie Behringer’s ball pinged to Nicole Rolser for the attacker to send it for Dominika Škorvánková. Given space to run into on the right, the Slovakian sped into the box, picking up the ball on the way before extending her boot to lift it over Almuth Schult. The lead doubled eighteen minutes later when Fridolina Rolfö sent Sara Däbritz’ sideways pass into the back of the net via the far upright.
Riding their luck with the hosts having already stuck the woodwork, looking the more dangerous, the league champions cut the deficit in half at the start of the second half when Zsanett Jakabfi slammed Alex Popp’s square ball home. Finding Schult in fine form, the Bavarians were repeatedly denied before the whistle, their two goals enough to put them on the cusp of a European berth.
FC Köln 0-2 Werder Bremen
Needing a win to keep their survival hopes alive, FCK were dealt an early blow as Werder took the lead two minutes in, the side from Bremen needing just a win at the Südstadion to claim their own safety. Given their first sight of goal, Marie-Louise Eta made no mistakes with her 20-yard free-kick, the ball curled over the wall and dropping just under the bar out of the reach of Marie Wenzl. Close to an equaliser later in the first half, the Billygoats were dealt a knock-out blow late in the day to settle the tie and the standings when Nora Clausen took the ball around Wenzl and curled it home, circumventing Anna Kirschbaum.
Having a torrid 2018 after a strong enough start to the season, the win gives Werder a boost before their last match of the season when they welcome Hoffenheim to Bremen. For Köln there is little chance of finishing on a high note, the team that has already conceded 78 goals this season will finish at the home of the champions.
TSG Hoffenheim 0-4 Turbine Potsdam
A team lacking consistency, Hoffenheim were once again left exposed, the team left punished after not having taken their early chances as their opposition settled and found four, the visitors turning the style on after the hour. Not at the races during the first half hour, the Turbines took the lead ten minutes before the break when Svenja Huth notched her eighth of the season, converting from inside the six-yard box. It was a case of the super-sub for Potsdam as Wibke Meister doubled the advantage seconds after coming on, the 23-year-old registering her first FBL brace. After poking the ball home at the far post, Meister added a third eight minutes later in a similar move that saw the ball carried up the right flank before being sent low into the box, the midfielder ready at the far post. Keeping up the trend of the four-goal weekend, Felicitas Rauch made it four just six minutes later when she slipped Friederike Abt’s dropped parry into the far corner.
SC Sand 4-0 MSV Duisburg
Closing down on FFC in sixth, Sand’s four goals at home to MSV have taken them within one of Frankfurt, the loss not enough to dampen the spirts of Duisburg who secured their safety, uncatchable by those below. Milena Nikolić’s thirteenth minute header set the ball rolling in Willstätt as the visitors sagged in defence, Laura Feiersinger’s low finish late in the half enough to double the advantage after she’d been denied a volley. Pouncing on a loose ball around the half-way line, Nikolić carried the ball into MSV’s half, letting fly from 40-yards, her lofted effort enough to catch Lena Nuding off of her line and further the lead. A low ball into the box ten minutes before the whistle saw Sand claim their fourth and final goal of the match, Anne van Bonn composed to take the ball away from Nuding before cutting it home.
