First Team

Wolves clinch first win of second half of season

A late penalty secured a 2-1 victory in Stuttgart.

VfL Wolfsburg earned a 2-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first win of the second half of the Bundesliga season. The first 45 minutes were played at a furious pace, even if clear-cut chances were hard to come by. The Green-and-Whites were frequently quick in transition and found promising positions in the Stuttgart penalty area, but the home side invariably managed to snuff out the danger.

At the other end of the pitch, Stuttgart often lacked the necessary precision with their final pass, leading to several attacks simply petering out. The deadlock was eventually broken in the closing 20 minutes when substitute Nick Woltemade put the hosts in front (72’).

The Wolves provided the perfect response and soon equalised through Tiago Tomas (77’). Not content with a point, VfL pushed for more and scored a winner in the 87th minute when Mohammed Amoura held his nerve from the penalty spot following a handball to seal the win for Ralph Hasenhüttl’s men.

The team’s next game is at home to VfL Bochum at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday 22 February at 15:30 CET. Tickets are available here.

Goals

  • 1-0 Nick Woltemade (73’): VfL lose the ball in midfield and Woltemade dribbles his way through the defence before leaving Marius Müller no chance with a shot into the right-hand corner.
     
  • 1-1 Tiago Tomas (77’): Amoura curls a cross into the box from the left with the outside of his right boot. Tomas arrives to volley in a crucial equaliser from ten metres out.
     
  • 1-2 Mohammed Amoura (87’): The Wolves are awarded a penalty following a handball by Josha Vagnoman. Goalkeeper Alexander Nübel dives the right way, low to his left, but is unable to keep Amoura’s effort out.

Reactions

Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We’re delighted, because we produced a decent display against a very good opponent. We were in the game well, especially in the first half, didn’t give them much and also created a couple of half-chances. In the first 30 minutes of the second half we saw just what Stuttgart are capable of. They became a bit more passive after scoring the opening goal. Our mentality and belief grew and, after going so close against Frankfurt and Leverkusen, my team wanted more today. Given the reaction we showed and the way we played in the first half, this win isn’t undeserved.”

Sebastian Hoeneß: “The first half was very evenly balanced against an opponent who was every bit as solid as we expected them to be. They made life difficult for us in the final third in particular. We wanted to increase the tempo after the break, but without losing our heads. We did that really well and had two good chances to score straight away. Wolfsburg were on the back foot, so we deserved it when we took the lead. We shouldn’t have lost the game after that, and we definitely shouldn’t have got caught out twice on the counter-attack. That’s frustrating. The last 18 minutes were very immature from us. For that reason, this defeat is very frustrating and it hurts a lot.”

Line-ups and stats

VfB Stuttgart: Nübel – Vagnoman (88‘ Jeltsch), Chabot, Hendriks, Mittelstädt – Karazor (88‘ Rieder), Stiller, Leweling (70‘ Diehl), Millot, Führich (84‘ Demirovic) – Undav (70‘ Woltemade)

Subs: Bredlow (GK), Jaquez, Stergiou, Keitel

VfL Wolfsburg: M. Müller – Fischer (46‘ Roerslev), Vavro, Koulierakis, Gerhardt – Vranckx, Svanberg, Wimmer, Tomas (90‘+1 Behrens), Amoura (90‘+3 Bornauw) – Wind (71‘ Skov Olsen)

Subs: Pervan (GK), Angely, Odogu, B. Dardai, Kaminski

Goals: 1-0 Woltemade (72’), 1-1 Tiago Tomas (77’), 2-1 Amoura (87’/pen)

Yellow cards: Chabot, Karazor, Hendriks / Fischer, Gerhardt, Svanberg, Behrens

Referee: Tobias Welz (Wiesbaden)

Attendance: 58,000 at MHP Arena (Stuttgart)