25 September 2006, by Sean Gillen

Werder Bremen stop rot with draw in Hamburg

Hamburg 1-1 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen ended their run of losses with a point at fellow title challengers Hamburg in the Bundesliga. A goal for both sides in the second half saw the points shared in an evenly fought encounter at the AOL Arena.

The away side, still missing injured talisman Miroslav Klose, started with Portuguese forward Hugo Almeida up front with Egyptian Mohamed Zidan. Almeida struggled to make an impact on the game, and was withdrawn with twenty minutes remaining.

After Bremen had early shots on goal from Almeida, Naldo and Diego, Hamburg had the better of the first half and should have gone ahead through Vincent Kompany. Great play from Juan Pablo Sorin put Boubacar Sanogo through on the right, and the striker crossed for Kompany, but the Belgian missed with his header.

Sanogo wasted a great chance to break the deadlock for his side in the second half. Bremen ‘keeper Tim Wiese flapped at a cross, and the ball fell kindly to Sanogo, who fired over when well placed and under little pressure.

Bremen had improved in the second half and took the lead with a nicely worked goal shortly before the hour mark. A clever disguised pass from the right by Clemens Fritz put Tim Borowski in on goal, and the German international smashed the ball past Kirschstein.

Almeida miss

Possibly the crucial moment in the game from Bremen’s point of view came just moments later as Almeida missed an excellent chance to double his side’s lead. Another quality delivery from the right saw Almeida with the perfect chance to score at the back post, but the Porto-owned striker took the strange decision to try and get a foot on the high ball rather than use his head, and he failed to make contact.

Just minutes later and Hamburg equalised with the simplest of goals. The unmarked Bastian Reinhardt headed an in-swinging corner from Iranian Mehdi Mahdavikia downwards and into the bottom corner.

Almedia was then subbed, replaced by Ivan Klasnic as Bremen tried to re-establish a momentum to press for a second goal. Few chances followed in the closing stages of the game, and after Mahdavikia was sent off for a dangerous challenge on Diego, the game was more notable for several niggling confrontations on the pitch.

With both sides hoping to challenge champions Bayern Munich for the title, and both hoping to bounce back after opening day Champions League defeats in the coming days, a point will be seen as a suitable result for all concerned.

Bremen, who lost at Stamford Bridge to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in their first Champions League game, face the daunting task of entertaining current holders Barcelona at the Weser Stadion on Wednesday.

Hamburg:
Kirschstein, Mathijsen, Reinhardt, Kompany, Sorin, De Jong, Mahdavikia, Jarolim, Trochowski (Guerrero, 67), Ljuboja (Wicky, 65), Sanogo
Yellow Cards: De Jong (41), Mathijsen (88)
Red Cards: Mahdavikia (74)

Werder Bremen:
Wiese, Fritz, Pasanen, Wome (Schulz, 46), Baumann, Naldo, Borowski, Frings, Diego (Hunt, 76), Zidan, Almeida (Klasnic, 69)
Yellow Cards: Wome (9), Frings (60), Fritz (85)

Goals:
[0-1] Borowski, 58
[1-1] Reinhardt, 68