“We knew what we were coming up against – I have to give credit to our opponents. I think we performed well against a good team and created some great chances,” Christian Streich summarised his team’s performance in the opening fixture. “In the second half we were sloppy in possession, which could have even lost us the game.”

Frank Kramer, head coach of today’s opponents, was happy overall. “It was a very intense game today against Freiburg, a team, who are well organised and improve season by season. Overall, it was a good contest against a strong opponent.”

Günter catches up to Zeyer

The coach and his staff decided to name the same starting eleven that beat Würzburger Kickers last week for the first game of their sixth consecutive Bundesliga season. It was apparent that Frank Kramer also saw no reason to change his line-up after his side’s 6-3 victory over SpVgg Bayreuth in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

This opening fixture marked a milestone achievement for Christian Günter, who made his 236th top-flight appearance for SC. The newly-appointed captain for this season levelled the appearance tally of the previous record holder, Andreas Zeyer.

High-intensity game to kick off the season

It took a good ten minutes, however, for SC to work their way into the game. Following a good period of possession for the hosts, Freiburg spent more and more time in the final third of DSC. After 20 minutes, SC had already won four corners, two of which posed a real threat to Bielefeld’s goal. First, Yannik Keitel shot’s from the edge of the box following a headed clearance from the corner missed the target (17’) before Stefan Ortega tipped Nicolas Höfler’s header from another corner over the bar (20’).

SC continued to create more opportunities, but they did have to survive some DSC attacks. From a Vicenzo Grifo free-kick, Nico Schlotterbeck had a shot on goal at the far post, but Stefan Ortega parried it strongly (30’). A minute later, Mark Flekken protected Freiburg’s goal, preventing Masaya Okugawa from giving Bielefeld the lead from a one-on-one scenario (38’).

SC continued to create more opportunities, but they did have to survive some DSC attacks. From a Vicenzo Grifo free-kick, Nico Schlotterbeck had a shot on goal at the far post, but Stefan Ortega parried it strongly (30’). A minute later, Mark Flekken protected Freiburg’s goal, preventing Masaya Okugawa from giving Bielefeld the lead from a one-on-one scenario (38’).

Referee Sven Jablonski was certainly kept busy during the match, which reflected the intensity and speed of the match. He awarded two yellow cards to each team after just 35 minutes, all for tactical fouls.

Ortega and Flekken remained unbeatable

The half ended goalless, and both sides returned for the second period unchanged. SC’s second half began with a potential threat from Arminia, as Masaya Okugawa broke through the Freiburg defence and had an open shot at Mark Flekken’s goal. Fortunately, Flekken kept out the effort and kept the score at 0-0(48’).

Just like the first half, Streich’s side needed about ten minutes to grow into the game before they had any chances. But then, Lucas Höler (55’), Jonathan Schmid (56’) and Yannik Keitel (57’) all tested Ortega; they were not able to score past him.

Injury forced Freiburg to make their first substitution shortly afterwards; Manuel Gulde stayed down following a defensive action and was replaced by Dominique Heintz (62’). Even though SC had more possession and more shots on goal, the game could have gone either way. Both teams have their keepers to thank for the fact that the game finished 0-0.

Freiburg will welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Dreisamstadion next Saturday at 15:30 CEST.

Photo: Bernd Thissen