There were few surprises to be had in Germany as Sand saw off Bremen, Essen eased past ‘Gladbach, Potsdam dismissed with Duisburg, Frankfurt deepened Leverkusen’s misery and Wolfsburg got the better of Hoffenheim. Bayern’s stoppage time win over an inconsistent Freiburg side the most dramatic of the weekend’s business.
SC Sand 2-0 Werder Bremen
In superb form this season, Dina Blagojević extended her tally just after the half hour, in the right place to volley Isabelle Meyer’s ball over Anneke Borbe. One became two six minutes later when Sylvia Arnold picked out her spot just inside of the far post, leaving Werder with it all to do. Having carried their poor form from the second half of last season with them into this campaign, there was little Bremen could do, fighting against the tide, they slipped to their eighth loss of the season.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-6 SGS Essen
Clearly struggling with the speed of the league, Borussia fell to another damning defeat as Essen found their mojo in front of goal. Working hard since her summer move, Danica Wu claimed her second goal for SGS six minutes in, having been allowed to jog through the box before lashing the ball home. Lena Oberdorf doubled the advantage ten minutes before the break as she lobbed the ball over Lisa Venrath, the second goal enough for a cushion, it wasn’t until the last 15 minutes that the visitors turned up the heat.
Scoring three goals in as many minutes, there was little the ‘Gladbach defence could do as they were picked off, Oberdorf’s second in the 77 minute a low shot that evaded Venrath. Lea Schüller made it four second later, stretching to put the ball in the bottom left corner before Oberdorf completed her hattrick with a curler that crashed against the upright before bouncing in. There was still time for a sixth, Sandra Starmanns’ unfortunate finish past Venrath three minutes from time, the nail in the coffin for the hosts.
SC Freiburg 1-2 Bayern München
Grabbing her first goal for her new club, Sharon Beck broke the deadlock at the Möslestadion with an exceptional free kick from 35-yards that caught Manuela Zinsberger unawares, the ball lifted over the Austrian an into the net. The lead only lasted two minutes before Kathrin Hendrich pulled the Bavarians level as she flicked Sara Däbritz’s corner backwards and into the unguarded net. In a cagey match that neither team could grab by the scruff, both sides continued to create with the hots having a goal ruled out before the Bavarians struck late in second half stoppage time when Freiburg failed to clear a free kick and Gina Lewandowski nodded the ball home from a yard out.
MSV Duisburg 1-8 Turbine Potsdam
A goal to the good nine minutes in when Felicitas Rauch sent Meike Kämper the wrong way from 12-yards, the Turbines refused to let up in Duisburg and had a second when Rieke Dieckmann knocked the ball in at the far post. Anna Gasper’s chip 13 minutes later was enough to leave the Zebra’s starring down another defeat.
Gifted a goal seconds later when Vanessa Fischer passed the ball right to Yvonne Zielinski’s feet, the hosts remained calm as Zielinski found Dörthe Hoppius for the in-form attacker to reduce the deficit. However, the goal was the last good news for Duisburg as Lena Petermann fired in a six-minute brace. Not yet on the scoresheet but busy in attack, Svenja Huth teed Petermann up with a neat square ball before finding her with a curled cross, the rangy attacker meeting the ball in the air to nod it beyond Kämper.
Huth finally got her goal after the break, firing in from close range just after the hour before Bianca Schmidt made it seven with a rising header. The match rounded off by Viktoria Schwalm six minutes from time as she completed a one-two with Petermann, streaking into the box before finishing with ease.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 0-3 FFC Frankfurt
In scintillating form since her move to Frankfurt from Sand, Laura Feiersinger opened the scoring 14 minutes in in Leverkusen when she clipped Géraldine Reuteler square pass in at the far post. The lead doubled by another in-form Laura seven minutes before the break when Laura Freigang knocked the ball under Anna Klink having been found by another low ball across the box from Reuteler. The win rounded out after the hour when Margarita Gidion toe-poked the ball into the bottom right corner, Reuteler again the one to set her up with a ball skimmed through the box.
VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 TSG Hoffenheim
Unfavourited against the league leaders, Hoffenheim did well to hang in until the half hour at the AOK Stadion, a nasty deflection taking Pernille Harder’s speculative effort away from Friederike Abt and into the top corner. Not down for long, TSG railed and pulled level eight minutes later when Franziska Harsch nodded Nicole Billa’s whipped corner beyond Almuth Schult. Heading towards half-time level with Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim mastered their own demise as Abt passed the ball straight to Harder, the Dane taking a touch to cut around the surprised defence before slotting the ball into the bottom corner. Reeling, the visitors soon found themselves down by two goals, Ewa Pajor happy to dance around the scattered defence and fire in the third of the afternoon.
Finding their feet again in the second half, Hoffenheim managed to keep the Wolves at arm’s length with Abt saving a late Alex Popp penalty, but could do nothing about the deficit, the champions stretching their perfect record this season.