NOVEMBER
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A interesting set of fixtures. Given our current form all of them are winnable but the superior quality of Leverkusen, Schalke could see us on the end of a pummeling if we are too expansive.
H vs Hamburg
First up in the crucial month of November was bottom side Hamburg at the Rhein-Neckar Arena (now onwards known as the Neckar), our home stadium. Without a win in the Bundesliga and having only scored 1 in their last 7 they should have been easy pickings.They also have some handy players I may pinch if they do go down (Tah, Müller, Behrami). Our team was changed with regulars Volland and Schwegler returning as well as others. The first half was a bit of a non-event apart from a smart Adler save from a low Szalai effort that was headed for the bottom corner. The second half followed much the same pattern until in the 82
nd minute Kaderabek whipped in a corner which was flicked on by Süle at the near post to Vallejo at the far post to head home and score his 1
st ever Hoffenheim goal. Minutes later Volland grabbed a second after Biteco was hacked down in midfield when he sent Volland through 1v1. This rubbed salt into the wounds of Hamburg who had played well but were toothless up front. We had played poorly but had the vital win which sent us to 3
rd in the table on goal difference.
forgot to save screenshot of this game, sorry
A vs Hertha
However the game was costly in terms of personnel. Süle pulled his groin and will miss 2-3 weeks whilst Biteco broke his ankle in the build up to the 2
nd goal and won’t return to the 1
st team squad until February 2015 at the earliest. Not wanting to overplay Vallejo (he’s only 1 year old than me and I couldn’t play as much football as he has recently!) I elected to rest him and give Mr Clueless/Bicakcic another chance alongside Abraham; Polanski came in for Schwegler in the only other change in what was a champions league 6 pointer away to Hertha Berlin.
The first significant action was in our half, Baumann tipping a Roy Beerens scorcher around the post and away from danger. However from the resulting corner the ball found its way to Kalou, who controlled then lashed home for Hertha. 8 minutes later the lead was doubled when Kalou was tackled just outside the 18 yard box and into enough space for Beerens to curl one past Baumann who could not deny him this time. We then conceded a third in awful circumstances as 3 quick passes by Hertha allowed then to penetrate from the halfway line to our 6 yard box where Kalou rifled into the roof of the net. Just 23 minutes in and we were 3-0 down and playing appallingly. Worse turned horrific as Baumjohann scored the 4
th for Hertha as both our CBs were sucked to the ball, leaving him in acres of space. We did pull one back just after HT when substitute Schmid crossed into the box and the Hertha backline switched off to allow Óliver to sneak in at the front post and score. But the joy was shortlived as Kalou made it 5, beating Baumann at the near post after Allgui crossed it low into him. Eye opening….
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And just to show how good Süle is, here's a screenshot of his stats. Absolutely crucial to this entire team.
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H vs Schalke
Just the 6 changes for the upcoming home game vs Schalke which had newfound importance. I would have made more changes, heck I would have made 10 changes, but injury and fitness wouldn’t let me unfortunately. And my rather cross team talk at the beginning of the match paid off as 5 minutes in Volland opened the scoring, showing his electric pace to sprint through the middle of Schalke’s team and coolly slotting past Wetklo. But Meyer equalizer just 9 minutes later after a good through ball by Johannes Geis set him through and left him with a simple finish. HT came and went and Schalke emerged re-invigorated and refreshed. Their newfound energy had nothing to do with their 2
nd goal though. Geis floated the corner to Barnetta who passed to Meyer who shot straight at Baumann. But the ball was parried right back to him and he finished at the 2
nd time of asking. But we drew level soon after, Óliver finding Volland who dribbled past Matja Nastasic before shooting into the back of the net. And Volland completed his hattrick as Óliver played him through after good, composed play by Süle as he beat 2 before finding Óliver who in turn set Volland free. However a corner once again proved to be our undoing as Farfan stabbed home admidst several Hoffenheim bodies, 3-3. But the gutting Schalke winner came, predictably, from a free kick that rebounded off Baumann and straight to Meyer who calmly finished his rather rubbish hattrick.
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A vs Leverskusen
So for the tough away game to end end the month- Leverkusen. Only a single change which was Zubber dropping out and Elyounoussi coming in (I’m quite proud of myself that I can actually spell that now without looking). And this proved to be a good choice as he opened the scoring when a Schmid free kick hit the bar and bounced down kindly for him to finish. And soon after HT Elyounoussi made it 0-2 with a good header, beating Jedvaj in the air and finishing Jin-Su’s cross with aplomb. Then he scored a thrid, powering home from inside the 6 yard box and by that point I was really really happy. Elyounoussi made the run from out to in and was found well by Volland who had evaded the CDM Kramer for the 1
st time all game to pick the pass. And even better our previously not so watertight defence kept out Leverkusen all game, not allowing them a single noteworthy shot or chance . 0-3 and a really good 0-3 at that.
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League Table
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Next Update: 16/07/15
4 Bundesliga games
More contract news...
. I won't show you a picture until after deadline day as there may be more deals to come... Each update from now on will cover 1 month of games except for deadline day which will be a stand alone update this Saturday.