A couple of duck eggs. Which is perfectly fine for STVV who spent a lot of time defending against Charleroi and still came out of there with a point against a mid-table opposition. Neither team ever really looked like scoring despite Charleroi needing the win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. The pitch was bad. The weather was bad. The football was... bad would be harsh so “dull” will suffice. Full game for Liberato Cacace who had more touches of the ball than any other player in his team but didn’t get the opportunity to do much with it. Good defensive work though.
This draw has STVV still with a three point buffer on their quest to stay in the top flight with four games remaining. Next up they face the bottom club, Waasland-Beveren, which is huge for them. Their last three games are against teams in the top half but win on the weekend and they should be safe no matter what else happens.
Up Next: Waasland-Beveren vs STVV, Sunday at 4.15am (NZT)
Jana Radosavljevic - Werder Bremen (German Bundesliga)
After scoring in the penalty shootout in the cup last week, Rado was rewarded with a sneaky start against SGS Essen in the league next up – her fourth start of the season. That and also a couple players had pulled up injured in the wake of that 120 minutes + pens. Radosavljevic playing on the wing of a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Problem was that Werder’s league form has been a bit crap with three losses on the trot and they were 1-0 down midway through the first half when Laureta Elmazi with a powerful shot that went straight through the keeper’s hands. Dead set howler there although Essen had been comfortably on top to that point and were well worth the lead. A lead that they’d hold pretty safely into the break.
But Werder were much improved in the second half. They probably shoulda scored when a shot was blasted over the top from a cut back (Rado had been gassing in from the right wing but that ball was never gonna get to her). Same deal from a similar situation soon after, Werder breaking down the left and Rado getting into a great area for a sliding ball across except that after seeing her cut-back spoiled last time, Nina Lührßen wasn’t doing anything but shooting... which was fair enough as she hoofed it into the roof of the net to equalise. Rado’s big chance came from an early cross which she took down nicely in the box but the left-footer power volley was sliced off target.
Ruthlessly, Werder spoiled things by soon conceding again thanks to another defensive error. A missed clearance at the back and Manjou Wilde was able to run in and slot what’d prove to be the winner. They did still have chances to level it up for a second time, including a curling left-footer from Radosavljevic that ended up in the keeper’s hands, but it wasn’t to be. Rado was subbed off with ten minutes remaining – 80 minutes marking her longest Bundesliga appearance to date. That’s four league losses in a row... Werder shouldn’t have to worry about relegation but still a pretty awful run of form that they’ll wanna put in the rearview. Check out some highlights here.