First Team

Wolves draw blank in Berlin

VfL lost 1-0 at Union Berlin.

VfL Wolfsburg came away empty-handed on Bundesliga Matchday 28, going down to a 1-0 defeat at 1. FC Union Berlin early on Sunday evening. Benedict Hollerbach scored the only goal in the 63rd minute in front of 22,012 spectators at the sold-out Stadion an der Alten Försterei, which proved to be enough in a match low on chances. The Green-and-Whites slip to 12th in the table as a result.

Debut for Odogu

Head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl handed a Bundesliga debut to 18-year-old David Odogu in Berlin, and the defensive talent produced a good performance overall.

Leipzig next

VfL’s next chance to return to winning ways comes this Friday, 11 April (kick-off 20:30 CEST), when RB Leipzig visit the Volkswagen Arena.

Goals

  • 1-0 Hollerbach (63’): Out of nothing, a throw-in causes confusion in the Wolves penalty area. The ball is flicked on to Hollerbach, who’s able to poke it into the net from close range.

Reaction

Ralph Hasenhüttl: “Obviously, the circumstances were highly unfavourable for us since we had to deploy a completely new defence. The boys did pretty well, though. Apart from a few set pieces, we didn’t allow much and kept Union relatively far from our goal. It was a very even game, which – as so often the case lately – was decided by one single moment. Perhaps a foul could’ve been given, too, although we didn’t defend the situation cleverly. At the moment, we’re having more chances than the opponents but just not scoring, and then conceding the decisive goal from very little. Nevertheless, I saw a team that tried a lot and put a lot of energy into it.”

Steffen Baumgart: “We started very well and had two or three opportunities in the opening 20 minutes. Then it ebbed and flowed. The boys battled well for long periods. In the second half, I thought it was an even contest with good opportunities for Wolfsburg, who showed their quality on the ball. We stood up to that and earned ourselves the little bit of luck that you ultimately need. I’d say that it wasn’t the better team who won today, but the team who scored the goal.”

Line-ups and stats

1. FC Union Berlin: Rönnow – Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite – Trimmel (79‘ Roussillon), Khedira, Juranovic, Schäfer, Haberer (90‘ Tousart) – Ilic (39‘ Ljubicic), Hollerbach (79‘ Skarke)

Subs: Schwolow (GK), Rothe, Vogt, Benes, Prtajin

VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara – Fischer, Odogu, Gerhardt, Maehle (73‘ Tomas) – Arnold, Wimmer, Vranckx (85‘ Nmecha), Kaminski, Amoura (85‘ Behrens) – Wind

Subs: Müller (GK), Roerslev, Dardai, Neininger, Paredes, Skov Olsen

Goal: 1-0 Hollerbach (63‘)

Yellow cards: – / Gerhardt  

Referee: Harm Osmers (Hannover)

Attendance: 22,012 at Stadion An der Alten Försterei (Berlin, sold out)