SV Werder Bremen
| 1-1 | Hunt | (79. Min) |
VfB Stuttgart
| 0-1 | Niedermeier | (55. Min) |
Martin Harnik
Stats 
Debut draw
Under the guidance of the trainer trio of Huub Stevens, Ton Lokhoff and Armin Reutershahn for the first time, VfB were orderly, structured and compact against Werder Bremen. In spite of having had a number of good openings, VfB were unable to reward themselves with a win. Georg Niedermeier‘s opener was later equalised by Aaron Hunt – a flattering result for the north Germans.
Prior to kick-off, it was anniversaries that took the headlines, with Georg Niedermeier making his 100th Bundesliga appearance, Christian Gentner making his 250th and Cacau playing for the 300th time in Germany’s top flight.
Penalty chance wasted
On the pitch, both sides began cautiously, relying on an orderly formation and not taking risks. There was little action in front of goal in the first half-hour, but when an opportunity did open up, it was for VfB. Firstly Daniel Schwaab headed a corner delivery from Ibrahima Traoré just wide of the mark (4‘), then the Guinean international tried his luck from distance (20’), but without success.
Quote for the game
Huub Stevens: "I am satisfied with the performance, but not with the result"
Post match comments
With just over a half-hour on the clock, Werder got their first sight of goal, but Franco di Santo poked the delivery from Luca Caldirola over Sven Ulreich’s crossbar. Shortly before the half time whistle, Gotoku Sakai got into the penalty area on the left hand side and let a shot fly. The ball struck the hand of Asani Lukimya and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Martin Harnik took the responsibility but could only hit the outside of the post and the sides went in at the break locked in stalemate.
Georg Niedermeier opens the scoring
There was more goal-mouth action in the early phases of the second half than throughout the entirety of the first. A deflected effort from Cacau failed to make it over the goal-line (51‘), whilst at the other end, Aleksandar Ignjovskis was denied by Sven Ulreich (52’).
Martin Harnik went on an excellent solo run and got a shot away, but Assani Lukimya managed to turn the ball over the bar and onto the roof of the net (54‘). The VfB fans were off their seats and celebrating just a minute later. Konstantin Rausch brought a deflected corner back into the penalty area, where Georg Niedermeier‘s initial header was parried by Bremer keeper Raphael Wolf, but the VfB central defender pounced on the loose ball and fired home to make it 1-0 for VfB.
Bremen with flattering equaliser
VfB were in control of the game but, in the 78th minute, Huub Steven’s men conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Aaron Hunt took directly. The Ball found its way through a hole in the wall and left Sven Ulreich without a chance of stopping the effort (79’). A frustrating equaliser and a flattering one for the north Germans!
VfB bounced back quickly and introduced Alexandru Maxim and Timo Werner to add some pep to the attack for the final minutes of the tie. Stuttgart battled hard for their first win in 2014, but once again the three points eluded them. On his debut as VfB coach, Huub Stevens returns to Stuttgart with a point from Bremen.
