New Delhi: In a helter-skelter Baden derby, SC Freiburg managed to upset TSG Hoffenheim, beating them 2-3 at the Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion to register their first points of the 2024/25 Women’s Bundesliga season.
Freiburg opened their accounts with defender Samatha Steuerwald, only for forward Ereleta Mehmeti to equalize in no time. Freiburg would expand their lead through new signings Tessa Blumenberg and Shekiera Martinez, before a late own goal from Steuerwald provided the hosts a bitter consolation.
The final game of the 2nd round presented itself as a rich intersection of various narratives. With both clubs hailing from the Baden-Württemberg region, local pride was certainly at stake. Freiburg entered the tie with their two standard bearers absent; manager Theresa Merk on maternity leave, and talismanic captain Hasret Kayikçi sidelined with a serious knee injury, coincidentally suffered in a pre-season friendly loss to Hoffenheim.
The hosts too were still licking their wounds, inflicted by Freiburg in an upset loss at home, disrupting their momentum and crushing their European qualification dreams. If that wasn’t enough, a victory over Freiburg would’ve ensured a place alongside Bayern Munich at the top of the table.
All that seemed to have fueled Hoffenheim’s early fury, with an early cross-shot putting Freiburg keeper Rafaela Borggräfe in a spot of bother. By the 10th minute mark, possession seemed to be edging slightly in favour of the hosts, but with no end product due to lackluster execution—a factor that spelled their doom from that very moment.
Freiburg had been maligned over their set piece vulnerabilities through the buildup to this game, so it was only fair for them to score from a corner in the 16th minute. Not only did Hoffenheim centerhalf Marta Cazalla fail to clear the initial delivery, her Freiburg counterpart in Steuerwald was a ghost, blasting the ball from close range past the helpless Laura Dick in goal.
Viele Chancen, aber leider keine Zähler.
Wir verlieren unser erstes Heimspiel der Saison mit 2:3 gegen Freiburg.
| 90’+6 | 🔵2:3🔴| #TSGSCF #TSGFrauen #DieLiga | pic.twitter.com/2wmtapmpPj
— TSG Hoffenheim Frauen (@HoffeFrauen) September 16, 2024
The 21 year-old was a gamble on Hoffenheim’s side which failed to deliver, with Dick getting caught out in possession. Before the commentators could finish on the rare sight of Steuerwald scoring a goal, Mehmeti had already snatched the limelight.
She finished a move started by fullback Lisann Kaut dashing down the right flank, squaring the ball to Mellisa Kössler. A quick one-two with skipper Fabienne Dongus had the former facing the goal, only for her to nudge the ball into the onrushing Mehmeti’s path, her finish searing into the bottom corner.
Flashforward to the end of the first half, the drama was cranked to the max. It started with Mehmeti receiving a slicing through ball and bearing goalward, only Borggräfe to pull out one of her many miraculous saves.
A few seconds later, Freiburg forward Alicia-Sophie Gudorf took aim at the Hoffenheim goal, only for a crucial block to save the day. One more scare came from Selina Vobian in the right half-space, who somehow picked the run of Annabel Schasching at the far post with a stupefying diagonal, however the angle was too tight for her to score.
The second half contained more initiative and better passing from Hoffenheim, who fashioned another big chance for Mehmeti in the 48th minute. Freiburg were almost seeing stars by the 60th minute, when fullback Jill Janssen was one-on-one with the Borggräfe, who simply didn’t seem to be in a mood to concede.
As is derby tradition, predictions are ripped up the moment they are conceived, when young forward Blumenberg breezed past Janssen in the 64th minute, and was barely interrupted when strode towards Dick and rifled a true worldie into the top-right corner. The goal was a true gut punch, evident in Hoffenheim’s passing unravelling into more of a “throw the sink at it” approach. The balance shifted in the visitors’ favour, with substitute Shekiera Martinez finding great freedom running behind Hoffenheim’s high line.
The 88th minute brought the final nail in the coffin, with Martinez one-on-one with Dick, rounding her and knocking the ball into the open net for a dream debut. Fate played one more trick, when Dongus’ square pass hit Steuerwald’s thigh for an own goal a few moments later, but then no more.
MD2 of the Women’s Bundesliga saw Hoffenheim falter to south-German rivals Freiburg in an instant classic. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
