by Olaf Goldbecker
Half of the season is played, all teams met once – at least almost since there will be one makeup game between Wolfsburg and Munich on Wednesday. Potsdam was the winner of the day since the other top three teams struggled. Whereas the term top three is not valid anymore since now we have a fourth team closing the gap.
Bayer Leverkusen v VfL Sindelfingen 4:0 (1:0)
Leverkusen was without a win in the first nine season games but then met the two newly promoted teams and could get their two important wins, which make them breathe easier at the bottom. Eunice Beckmann scored after ten minutes to care for a solid base, and added the second goal early in the second half. Turid Knaak added a pair for the win.
Turbine Potsdam v FSV Gütersloh 5:0 (2:0)
An expected easy win for the injury plagued champion. The two top strikers were the insurance once again. Genoveva Anomna netted a hat trick befor Yuki Ogimi marked a pair.
SGS Essen v SC Freiburg 2:3 (1:2)
An intense game with lots of tension on a good level was delivered in Essen. A counter attack led to the lead for Essen by Charline Hartmann early in the game. Freiburg stayed calm, took control of the match and turned it around by Claire Savin and Marina Makanza. After the break everything seemed decided when Juliane Maier scored on a penalty kick midway thru the second half, but Melanie Hoffmann answered with twelve minutes left on the clock. Essen now pushed for the equalizer but Freiburg carried the points over the finish line.
FF USV Jena v FCR Duisburg 2:1 (1:0)
One week after Duisburg surprised against Munich they surprised again this week and fell short at Jena. Amber Hearn scored Jena’s lead with the half time whistle. Ten minutes after the break Mandy Islacker tied, but Sabrina Schmutzler decided the game.
FC Bayern München v 1.FFC Frankfurt 2:1 (1:1)
Munich is Frankfurt’s nightmare opponent. After two cup wins this year they won the third game in a row against the former powerhouse. Kerstin Garefrekes cared for a perfect start for the away team in minute 3 but Munich continued well and tied by Sarah Hagen after half an hour. Right after the second half started it again was Hagen who marked the eventual game winner for her side.
SC Bad Neuenahr v VfL Wolfsburg 2:2 (1:1)
Wolfsburg played the season so far like a slogan of their main sponsor Volkswagen: they run and run and run. Yet surprisingly this run was stopped today. It was known that Bad Neuenahr is an uncomfortable opponent who can destroy and make it hard to allow goals, yet the so far second worst offense of the league would be able to score two goals against the top ranked team can be considered a major upset. Alexandra Popp got the Wolves on track early but Sarah Gregorius tied after 26 minutes. After the break Celia Okoyino da Mbabi marked the lead for Neuenahr before Zsanett Jakabfi tied. Although half an hour was left on the clock, Wolfsburg was unable to answer today.
Situation: Wolfsburg leads the standings with 26 points and can still win a more comfortable lead in the make up game against Munich. Potsdam follows at 25 in the Champions League spot, ahead of Frankfurt with 22. Rank 4 so far was considered “best of the rest” but SC Freiburg collected 20 points in the meantime and is in reach of the top spots. Bayern Munich sits in 5th with 15 points, and could still collect more with a surprise against Wolfsburg. Essen is in place 6 with the same number of points, ahead of Bad Neuenahr and Jena at 14 each. Duisburg sits in rank 9 with 11 points, one ahead of Leverkusen. On the relegation spots are Gütersloh with 7 and Sindelfingen with 4 points, both would clearly lose a point tiebreaker due to their bad goal differential.