DwFK 6 - 3 Vorwärts (393209313)

The crowd of 44182 turning up at Kampfbahn Rote Erde today were greeted with some nasty showers of rain. Leontin Stãnica was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Rosalvo Negri and Jørgen Kristensen. DwFK had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. The following players took the field: Hérin - Goebel, Ledford, Milaniuk - Schlagbauer, Hirschbrich, Sedgwick, Dohmann, Siurua - Francke, Basler.

Vorwärts tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Starters: Kohlbacher - Miertschink, Gallei, André - Demir, Moellinger, Mendes, Tettamanti, Hartmannsdorf - Dvoracek, Tataru.

DwFK saw most attack opportunities on the wings. Vorwärts had to make a substitution after 13 minutes. W. Hartmannsdorf limped off the field and was replaced by M. Groener. With 17 minutes played, the home side managed to get a 1 - 0 lead as C. Goebel flipped the ball in after a cross from the right. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, E. Gallei got himself booked. The manager of Vorwärts was not happy. The home crowd was dismayed when the referee called a penalty for Vorwärts after 27 minutes. A. Moellinger calmly took the shot and scored. The game was level at 1 - 1. M. Demir of Vorwärts received a yellow card after 29 minutes for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Vorwärts's O. Miertschink had to watch the rest of the game from the sidelines, after twisting his ankle with 34 minutes having been played. A. Dias Lopes was the replacement. Players in DwFK heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their central attacks to the wings instead. DwFK took the lead after 35 minutes as a result of J. Francke's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 2 - 1. After 36 minutes, I. Basler sent the corner kick right to H. Sedgwick who headed it sharply past the keeper. 3 - 1! 3 - 1 was the halftime score. DwFK claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 55 percent.

M. Groener did not have a good day today, often losing his footing on the muddy pitch. DwFK solidified their lead at the 57 minute mark, as W. Dohmann dribbled the ball through the opposing central defence and scored to make it 4 - 1. By now, the players in DwFK felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. Things were deteriorating for the away team as DwFK scored another to make it 5 - 1 after a left side attack resulted in a goal for J. Siurua after 65 minutes. When M. Demir made yet another studs-first tackle after 67 minutes, the referee was obliged to book the Vorwärts player for the second time, sending him off the pitch. W. Dohmann didn't let the weather get him down and made some great moves on the pitch in spite of the rain. With 70 minutes played, the Vorwärts coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. F. van der Kroef came on, I. Tataru had to leave the fray. Given a free kick close to the byline, Vorwärts tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let D. Dvoracek slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 5 - 2, 76 minutes into the game. C. Hirschbrich increased the lead for DwFK to 6 - 2, getting a head onto a hooked ball from the right. The ball looked to have taken a deflection on the way in, but he's claiming it! DwFK's D. Hérin left the field after 83 minutes because of a nasty blow to the shin. His replacement was R. Plaza. Vorwärts showed their counterattack skill 88 minutes into the match by breaking through the middle, with W. Mendes scoring uncontested for 6 - 3. Vorwärts's W. Tettamanti got himself booked for a foul. DwFK enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 61 percent of possession.

DwFK's best player was J. Francke. On the other hand, R. Plaza's play was disheartening. W. Mendes performed admirably for Vorwärts. M. Groener was a disappointment, however. The match ends 6 - 3.