Tim Walter’s men began the 2019/20 campaign with three points on Friday evening as they claimed a 2-1 victory over fellow relegated side Hannover 96, watched by a crowd of 52,021 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Team news
Ahead of kick-off, Marc Oliver Kempf was named VfB’s captain for the new season and the 24-year-old defender duly led the side out onto the field at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Gregor Kobel started in goal for the hosts, one of four new signings in the starting line-up. As well as the Swiss, there were also full debuts for Pascal Stenzel, Atakan Karazor and Hamadi Al Ghaddioui, while returnee Marcin Kaminski also started.
| 29th minute | The first goal of the season arrives just before the half-hour mark. Borna Sosa’s cross from the left is met at the far post by Mario Gomez, who makes it 1-0 to VfB. |
| 36th minute | The noise levels inside the stadium go up another notch as Daniel Didavi dispatches a free-kick from 25 metres into the back of the net. It comes about from a foul on Santiago Ascacibar, who impresses in the first half with a typical all-action display. |
| 39th minute | VfB’s lead is cut to just one goal when substitute Maxime Awoudja’s attempted clearance goes wrong and ends up in his own net. |
| 62th minute | Ascacibar misses a chance to make it 3-1 from a promising position. |
| 64th minute | A big chance for VfB is followed by an unusual incident. While Ascacibar is down receiving treatment, Hannover’s Matthias Ostrzolek speaks with referee Dr Felix Brych. Following the conversation, the Hannover defender is shown a second yellow card and sent for an early bath. |
| 85th minute | Parity is restored in the closing stages – but only as far as the number of players is concerned. Awoudja is given his marching orders for a second bookable offence and leaves the field to encouraging applause from the home crowd. |
Head coach Tim Walter :
Our fans were brilliant, they drove us forward throughout the match.
Summary
It was a successful start to the season for VfB. The boys in red and white were on the front foot for most of the 90 minutes and created the better chances. Having capitalised on that in the first half, they failed to add a third goal after the break, but overall it was an encouraging performance from Walter’s men.
