April
April is the month that can either make or break our season. Lets take a look at how we did:
VFB Stuttgart - SV Werder Bremen
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We started off really well and in the 6th minute, Ferati, who has made some massive improvements over the year opened the scoring for us. Then Timo Baumgartl picked up an injury forcing me to take him off. Bremen then got back in the game and got some good chances but either the woodwork or Tyton prevented them from scoring.
In the 41st minute Schwaab then scored with a brilliant free kick and 2 minutes later Kostic made it 3 for us. After the break Bremen pushed on and managed to score 2 goals. I was worried that this was going to be the Hertha match all over again but we quickly grabbed control of the match once more.
We failed to score however as Ginczek is simply not as sharp as he was at the beginning of the season. Luckily for us we have more players that can put the ball in the net and one of them, Kruse, did exactly that giving us a satisfying 4-2 victory.
This match really highlighted the progression that Ferati has made over the season as he put in an excellent performance.
View attachment 209553Another player who has made quite some progression over the year, Baumgartl, picked up an injury during the match causing him to be sidelined for the next 2-3 weeks.
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Borussia Mönchengladbach - VFB Stuttgart
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Lately we have been struggling away from home so I wasn't sure what to expect from this match.
We started off well enough and dominated possession but it was Gladbach who took the lead after Hazard converted an excellent counter attack into a goal. Insua who felt that the goal was offside then got a yellow card for abusing the officials resulting in him missing the next game against Darmstadt.
Gladbach then became the better team but we did get our fair share of chances and we managed to convert one of them right before half time leaving both teams on level terms at the break.
In the second half Gladbach continued to be the better team but some excellent saves from Tyton kept us in the game. Then totally against the run of play we grabbed the lead in the 61st minute through Ginczek and despite Gladbach's best efforts we managed to see the match out giving us a somewhat underserved win at the Borussia-Park.
Unfortunately we did suffer another injury during this match and this time it is a really bad one.
View attachment 209550As you can see Niedermeier will be out for 2-3 months and since I am not planning on extending his contract, which is set to expire at the end of the current season, this probably means that the game against Gladbach is going to be his last ever game for Stuttgart.
Then during the week another player picked up an injury
View attachment 209549Despite being a relatively unserious injury it couldn't have come at a worse time as Ginczek is now set to miss the DFB Pokal game against Red Bull Leipzig.
VFB Stuttgart - SV Darmstadt 98
View attachment 209548Despite the fact that we were missing quite a few players either through injury or through suspension I felt still confident that we could secure a good result.
That feeling was immediately crushed however as Darmstadt managed to get the lead within the first 14 seconds of the game! They continued to be the better team and even managed to extend their lead by 2 right before half time.
During the break I made it very clear to my players that this was simply unacceptable.
They seemed to listen as we were by far the much better team during the second half creating lots of good opportunities but we simply didn't convert any of them leaving us with a very costly 2-0 defeat.
Then came the semi-final against RB Leipzig, Leipzig have been doing really well this season and are currently leading the table in the 2. Bundesliga.
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Given Leipzig's recent good form and our less then stellar away form I wasn't very hopeful.
RB Leipzig - VFB Stuttgart
View attachment 209545The match started well enough, both teams were fairly equal to each other and both teams created several good chances. We proved to be more lethal then them however as we grabbed the lead in the 12th minute through a Timo Werner goal.
Then however things turned sour as Gruezo picked up a second yellow card for a stupid challenge leaving us a man short with 63 minutes still left to be played. Despite Leipzig's best efforts we did manage to hold onto our narrow lead for the rest of the first half.
After the break Leipzig were determined to make something happen and as a result they got their goal in the 49th minute. The rest of the match was tight but we managed to keep the score level resulting in the match going to extra time.
I was hoping that we could take the game to penalties but RB Leipzig weren't about to let that happen and managed to score almost immediately after the restart, we then tried to push for the equaliser but it wasn't meant to be.
FC Augsburg - VFB Stuttgart
View attachment 209542Then came the Augsburg match, our away form has been terrible lately and I honestly don't know why. At the beginning of the season we were excellent away from home but now we just can't make it work.
This match was another example of that as we simply didn't turn up, Augsburg grabbed the lead in the 46th minute and while we tried we couldn't get the ball in the net. It was extra frustrating to then see Augsburg score another goal, from that point on it was all or nothing for us and we manage to grab one goal back but in the end this was another match in which we came up short and so we suffer our third consecutive defeat of the month.
Hannover 96 - VFB Stuttgart
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Following our recent results a spot in the top 4 seems more and more unlikely and the Hannover game was the last bit of hope that we had left, a loss here and it would all be over.
You'd think that that would be enough motivation but you'd be wrong as we again started off in a terrible way allowing Hannover to grab a 2 goal lead after 20 minutes went by. We pulled one back immediately after they scored to make it 2-1 but that didn't seem to effect their performance.
After the restart Hannover continued in the same way that they had left of in the first-half, by scoring goals against us. Benschop scored in the 50th and 62nd minute to give them a comfortable 3 goal lead. It wasn't until late in the half that we managed to do something back as Maxim made it 4-2 but again it just wasn't good enough.
April Review
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If I were to describe April in one word then it would be: disastrous.
Not only are we out of the DFB Pokal after being so close to reaching the final we have also severely underperformed in the Bundesliga make it a very realistic proposition that we will not be playing European football next year.
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As you can see we are currently 6th following our terrible run, it should be noted that we are level on points with Leverkusen and only ahead of them based on our goal difference.
A top 4 spot is pretty much out of the question as we have to make up a 5 point gap with Hertha, and with only 2 games left I don't see that happening.
The title race is going to be very close as there is only 1 point seperating Bayern and Dortmund.
Down the table we can see that Wolfsburg are all but relegated which is a massive shock! What's even more surprising is that Schalke 04 might actually get relegated aswell.
News
While April was a bad month for our team it wasn't for our second team as they were crowned champions in the 3. Bundesliga.
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Another positive thing to report is that my issues with Ginczek have been resolved.
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Lastly Mart Ristl, a highly promising youngster, is finally back after being out injured for the past 7 months.
Now it remains to be seen how much his development has been affected and whether he can come back as strong as he was.
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A Look Ahead
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The final 2 games of the season, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04.
If you look at the table then I don't need to tell you how important the Leverkusen fixture is for us. If we want to secure European football then we need atleast a draw.
Finally we face Schalke whom are fighting against relegation, as strange as it seems a bad result against us could actually send them to the 2. Liga!