Women

DECISIVE WIN TO CLOSE

Wölfinnen win their second friendly match in Malta against FC Basel 5–0.

In the second match of the VisitMalta Women Club Trophy, VfL Wolfsburg Women convincingly defeated FC Basel 5–0 (3–0) on Wednesday afternoon in spring-like temperatures and sunshine. Before halftime, Alexandra Popp scored twice (40’, 45+2’) and Vivien Endemann added a goal (45’) to make it 3–0. After the break and several lineup changes, the Wölfinnen continued their goal-scoring streak. Lineth Beerensteyn made it 4–0 in the 51st minute, before Alexandra Popp scored her third goal of the day (53’) to complete the 5–0 final score.

MATCH PROGRESS

The Wölfinnen started strongly and immediately put Basel’s defense under pressure. In the third minute, however, the first dangerous moment occurred at the other end when a short back pass in the VfL defense was intercepted by former Wölfin Antonia Baaß, whose shot narrowly missed the goal. Afterwards, the midfield around Popp repeatedly combined into dangerous areas. In the tenth minute, the captain played a precise pass to Beerensteyn, but the forward was decisively challenged before finishing. Shortly after, Beerensteyn again appeared in a promising position: running alone towards the penalty area, she tried to dribble past Basel goalkeeper Selina Wölfle but failed. Set pieces also caused danger. A free kick from the left in the 23rd minute reached Popp, who tried a header, but the ball went narrowly wide. Soon after, Judit Pujols took a shot from distance after intercepting the ball, but the Basel keeper deflected it for a corner, which could not be converted. As the game progressed, the Wölfinnen increasingly controlled the match. In the 33rd minute, Popp won the ball in midfield, held it strongly, and sent Endemann forward. The attacker entered the penalty area but missed her finish. The reward for this dominant phase came shortly before halftime: in the 40th minute, Popp took a shot from outside the box and scored a spectacular goal to make it 1–0. Two minutes later, another attack down the right involved Endemann, who crossed into the box. Justine Kielland tried to finish but shot narrowly over the goal (42’). In the 45th minute, the duo succeeded: Kielland found a gap in midfield and sent Endemann through again, who calmly slotted the ball into the near corner for 2–0. The first half was rounded off by a free kick in stoppage time, where Popp kept her composure after a scramble in the box and placed the ball under the crossbar for 3–0 at halftime (45+2’).

After several substitutions, the Wölfinnen came out of the locker room and immediately looked to attack. Shortly after the restart, Svenja Huth broke through on the right and delivered a sharp cross into the box, where Kessya Bussy tried to finish but missed (48’). In the following minutes, the right side remained a constant threat. Again, Huth broke through and delivered a precise cross into the middle, where Beerensteyn was perfectly positioned to head in for 4–0 (51’). The Grün-Weißen kept the pressure high and were rewarded shortly after. Pressing Basel from a goal kick, Popp won the ball and calmly scored to make it 5–0 (53’). Wolfsburg continued to control the game. In the 62nd minute, Bussy received the ball on the wing, sprinted down the right and entered the penalty area, but her cross found no teammate. The Wölfinnen also attacked from the left: three minutes later, Sarai Linder, after a pass from Camilla Küver, broke forward towards Basel’s goal, but her shot narrowly missed (65’). In the final phase, substitute Cora Zicai had a chance when she entered the penalty area, but her shot was too central and Basel’s goalkeeper Wölfle saved easily (79’). Basel’s offensive actions in the second half were largely absent. Only after 83 minutes did FC Basel manage to enter the VfL penalty area, but this situation also posed no real danger.

COACH’S STATEMENT

Stephan Lerch: After intense training days, the team implemented everything on the pitch today. We scored five goals and of course would have liked to score the one goal that would have won us the tournament. However, that was not the focus in the past few days. Much more important was to work on our own processes. In both games, we kept clean sheets and were defensively more stable. Today we lacked the final decisiveness in some situations, but we are taking away many good insights and making clear steps in the right direction.

LINE-UPS AND STATISTICS

VfL Wolfsburg (1st half): Johannes – Bjelde, Kleinherne, Wedemeyer, Pujols – Minge, Kielland – Endemann, Popp, Bussy – Beerensteyn

VfL Wolfsburg (2nd half): Johannes – Linder, Bergsvand, Küver, Pujols (66’ Saelen) – Minge (66’ Papp), Peddemors – Huth, Popp (66’ Kerim-Lindland), Bussy (66’ Zicai) – Beerensteyn (66’ Arasniewicz)

Goals: 1–0 Popp (40’), 2–0 Endemann (45’), 3–0 Popp (45+2’), 4–0 Beerensteyn (51’), 5–0 Popp (53’)

Referee: Reuben Spiteri Delicata (Malta)