As Johan Manzambi rose highest inside the penalty box before heading home with great confidence to celebrate his first Bundesliga goal with his teammates, he sent the away fans into raptures.

SC had worked hard in search of victory throughout the second period; however, it had looked for much of proceedings as if the contest would end all square. The joy on the winning side was therefore only greater: “We provided a great response after the last couple of weeks,” explained captain Christian Günter, praising the impact of the substitutes. “The lads that came on did a fantastic job. An afternoon’s work doesn’t get much better than that!”

Head coach Julian Schuster also had positive words to describe the showing of his team: “We delivered a superb away performance. The way we began the contest was good to see and it is always nice to get the due rewards for your efforts. I am really pleased not only for Johan, but also the entire team, club and SC Freiburg academy.”

Günter turns into his own net before Osterhage levels things up

SC made two changes to their line-up which started the defeat against Dortmund, with Max Rosenfelder replacing the suspended Matthias Ginter and captain Christian Günter coming in for Jordy Makengo. Freiburg will also have to do without Eren Dinkci (muscular problems) for a short period of time.

On what was a delightful spring afternoon, both sets of fans were clearly looking forward to the clash between the sixth- and seventh-placed teams in the table ahead of kick-off. Over 3,000 SC fans had made the journey north to witness their team attempt to disrupt the hosts’ build-up play right from the outset with a whole-hearted press.

Although the opening phase produced little in the way of goalmouth action, the teams then each delivered a punch to their opponent. Freiburg lost the ball in the middle of the park before Robin Hack spearheaded the home side’s subsequent attack. Hack sent Franck Honorat on his way down the right flank and his cross into the box was unfortunately diverted into his own net by Günter (14’).

The Foals’ celebrations were soon cut short, however, as Patrick Osterhage equalised for the away team. The midfielder directed a looping delivery from Lukas Kübler towards goal, where Pereira Cardoso struggled in keeping it out and Osterhage had his first goal for SC (16’). Any early caginess had since evaporated, with each of the 22 players going at the contest with full force.

Attacking impetus on either side

While SC had seen more of the ball after half an hour, Seoane’s side had produced more in the way of goalscoring opportunities. However, neither a flurry of corners nor multiple penalty-area incidents resulted in the ball hitting the net once more.

The next presentable chance for Freiburg arrived at the feet of Lukas Kübler. Although, the provider of the first goal could not add his own name to the score sheet from a tight angle, only finding the side-netting (32’). Ristu Doan then looked to place an effort on the turn but saw his shot head just wide of the home upright (43’). Robin Hack had previously struck the outside of the post for the hosts (36’). Ultimately, an entertaining first 45 minutes ended with the sides level at 1-1.

SC push on for the win

The visitors emerged from the locker room full of energy and plenty of aggression as quick passes through the middle of the park saw them break through the hosts’ lines centrally. After 51 passes in the build-up, Freiburg deservedly created the next chance to score but Junior Adamu found Pereira Cardoso in the way following eye-catching set-up play from Vincenzo Grifo. The 19-year-old keeper once again was at the centre of attention as he clawed a Höler effort off the line and away from the corner of the net, where it was headed (58’).

The home side were now creating little in the way of offensive pressure and a lead nearly half an hour before the final whistle would have been well-earned on the side of the visitors. Freiburg pressed forward once more, but a strike from Niklas Beste in the 78th minute met its match in Pereira Cardoso.

However, the score board was finally changed in the nick of time. Ritsu Doan utilised a pocket of space on the right flank to send a cross into the box, picking out Johan Manzambi. The young Swiss headed home in cool fashion for a 90th-minute winner, which sealed a 2-1 victory for SC.

Freiburg’s latest win saw them leapfrog into sixth place in the standings. The visit of TSG Hoffenheim this coming Saturday presents the next chance for points in the race for European qualification (kick-off 15:30 CEST).