1. FC Nürnberg won their home game against SV Sandhausen 2-0 due to an extreme defensive tactic. The only downside is a yellow-red lock for Frey.
Defend bearded men with man and mouse
Jens Keller reacted to the justified criticism of his starting line-up in Hamburg and corrected his experiment, which he did not want to be labeled as such. Specifically: Mühl and Cerin out, Sorg and Nürnberger took over. But Keller had to do more renovations, the Margreitter, who was prevented from having a back injury, was replaced by Sörensen. In short: a completely new defense.
It was not to be expected whether these new changes would contribute to stability. On the contrary, the constant changes (partly due to injuries) are reasons and an expression of the fact that the club cannot rest in its game. Against Sandhausen that provided more experience on the outside, especially with Heise and Sorg, but at least this time for the success.
Heise, in particular, showed up in halftime 1 as the club’s (basically only) real weapon in combination with Hack and Frey. This is how the 1-0 (12th) came from a ball that was initially not adequately fended off by Sandhausen, which Heise gently circled from the half-field on Frey, which then more than worthy of its flying header was balanced by the rotation into the angle.
The leadership did not reflect the game, Sandhausen had already been superior to the field by then and you seemed generally more attuned and consolidated as a team. And after the tour, the impression even intensified, even if one might assume that defense was the order of the day for clubs.
Turbulent 2nd half with happy ending and drops of wormwood
After the change basically the same picture. Sandhausen with significantly more possession (62% overall) besieged the Nürnberger Tor, who also built the Wagenburg willingly and wanted to succeed with counterattacks. This also happened faster than expected: Geis after Fehlpass Sandhausen with a good eye and a fine foot on Hack (52nd), who only has Nauber and the keeper against him. He leaves the former worth seeing with a hook, he cleverly loads the keeper.
If the 1-0 could not bring calm, it could do the 2-0 for 10 minutes. Sandhausen looked battered, the 3-0 seemed possible (Mavropanos by head). But Sandhausen came through with a steep pass all at once, Mathenia exemplary falls to the opponent: penalty (63.). But this time the momentum is on the Nuremberg side, because Mathenia can fend off the weakly shot 911 and clear Mavropanos in a flash.
Keller parks the bus in front of the gate
Awakened by the sudden chance to come back into play, Sandhausen threw everything forward, Nuremberg tried to drive the proverbial bus in front of the gate. As Behrens (58.) and Hack (65.) leave the 3: 0, the chance that the game will tip again with a connecting goal is more and more palpable. All the more so as one could say goodbye to his best offensive defender Frey at the club, who had to go into the cabin with yellow-red after clearing the door penalty box in the opposing penalty area Freyesk. Frey will also miss the club against Osnabrück.
In the end, despite various promising situations, Sandhausen lacked the means to seize the opportunity for a comeback. Even promising corner variants were then defused due to technical shortcomings.
Conclusion: Keller’s tactics worked. This time.
The three points were absolutely necessary, precisely because many others also scored in the relegation battle, which is currently starting in 11th place. With the win, the FCN jumped from 17 to 13. Currently there are only 6 points difference between 11 and 18.
Keller’s approach of closing the bulkheads behind and relinquishing possession of the ball or counterattack – at home or not – was rewarded. However, it will not be used as a recipe for success. Sandhausen could not do much with the willingly given possession of the ball and also let opportunities offered pass – a caliber like the HSV punished that differently. In addition, the approach is not really new and has rarely been successful this season.
Nevertheless, you are rightly very satisfied with the victory, because the team has finally rewarded itself for honest fight and effort and luck was a bit on the side. Another positive thing is that the newcomers Heise and Mavropanos are obviously doing well. Whether the effect will persist and the trend will become a trend, you might see against Osnabrück.
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