Another local derby beckons – BVB against Bochum
"ill be back" - (Sebastian Kehl 2009) maybe he didn't actually say it in those terms but it could have been implied.. any way fact is and probably a good needed boost for BVB , the club and its fans is the return of Sebastian Kehl. who after a long term injury stepped foot back onto the pitch for the first team in the ill fated game against rivals Schalke.
he replaced his heir apparent Sven Bender in the 86th min in what was a maybe more symbolic substitution than any other in the game , in that it represented the return of someone who embodied the fighting spirit of a player who played in the BVB shirt for pride and honour of the club... its captain.
While he didn't have a huge impact on the ending result it remarked a return to first team football for Kehl who had been out since at least last July with injury, and his return and presence couldn't have come at a better time for the club who after their bright start to the season have been recently struggling for form and suffering injuries.
More recently they have lost Mats Hummels and Sven Bender to short term injuries that will keep them out for a good few games.
Against Gladbach last weekend he made his first start and helped inspire the team to a 3-0 win, you could say he is a good omen , the return of Kehl to spark a return of form? who knows but what is known is that his leadership will prove a valuable tool for team morale and strength for the rest of the season.
Most pending is the game against yet another local rival Bochum this weekend in which fans will be looking to Kehl and the rest of the team to try and restore some local pride with a solid performance and another win..
While Bochum are below BVB in the table and having lost the last 2 meetings between the 2 clubs it would look like they would be cannon fodder but they will not prove to be an easy ride for they could have some inside knowledge that maybe will not win them the game but will give them an idea of what to expect from some players on the current BVB roster.
That knowledge is in the form of ex player and now current coach of Bochum - Heiko Herrlich who won both domestic and European honours with BVB and coached them at u19 level.. he will know more than most just how much pride and desire will go into winning this game and will know how hard a task his current club face and thus instill this knowledge into his players.
It will to also see another old BVB player line up for Bochum in Diego Klimowicz who is expected to start only on the bench , other than that Bochum are set to start with a near full strength Squad.
BVB on the other hand will be missing Dede ,Hummels, Bender, Goetze and Oztekin to various injuries all of which are not expected to be too long term , but still out for the long term are Tinga and Feulner , and while Valdez is listed as doubtful he is expected to make the bench.
The starting 11 is expected to be as follows :
Weidenfeller - Owomoyela, Subotic, Santana, Schmelzer - Kehl, Sahin - Kuba, Zidan, Großkreutz , Barrios.
Expected Subs : Ziegler - Koch, Hünemeier, Hajnal, Valdez, Rangelov
Kick off @ Saturday, 13. March 2010, 15.30 (CET) 14:30 (GMT) @ (rewirpowerSTADION)
Dortmund suffer 2nd defeat in a row
Borussia Dortmund 2 - 3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Borussia Dortmund played host to Eintracht Frankfurt, who hadn't won at Dortmund since 1991. But the visitors walked away victorious today.
The first half of the match came to be a very evenly matched affair, with both sides having plenty of possession and attempts at goal. It was the away team that managed to open the scoring though. With 7 minutes played Benjamin Kohler leaped to meet a Patrick Ochs cross, and powered home a header.
Frankfurt nearly added a second minutes later when Altintop got some space at the edge of the box but Marc Ziegler was quick off his line to muffle out any attack.
On the 15th minute Dortmund managed to pull a goal back. Grosskreutz's corner was cleared only as far as Mohamed Zidan who played the ball back into the box where Mats Hummels was quick to react to put the ball in the back of the net.
Both teams had their fair share in chances on goal but Frankfurt were the closest to adding to their tally. Altintop managed to shot past Ziegler in the 27th minute but Mats Hummels was quick to clear the ball off the line, and just a few minutes later Altintop again had another great chance but failed to materialise a free header.
On the 39th minute Barrios was clear on goal but quick reactions by the goalkeeper ensured that the Dortmund hitman didn't score.
So at halftime the teams remained on level terms at 1-1.
The second half both teams took a while to get into the match shot wise, both teams kept plenty of possession though.
Dortmund then took the lead in the 56th minute. Owomoyela done well to retain possession of the ball in the oppositions box, he played the ball out to Zidan who crossed the ball into the box. Barrios was there to slot home from a few yards.
Dortmund went on to create a few good chances but the Frankfurt goalkeeper was on good form. In the 64th minute a Frankfurt corner was cleared out to Jung who fired a shot from 20 yards but it took a deflection on the way and Ziegler had no chance. The score levelled at 2-1.
The match livened up as both teams went all out for the winner. Dortmund came closest when a scramble in front of goal failed to materialise. It was then in the 73rd minute when Frankfurt took the lead. Meier took advantage of some slack defending to shoot past Ziegler.
Dortmund had the best chance after that just 1 minute away from the end of regulation time, Santana managed to head over the bar from 2 yards.
Borussia Dortmund: Ziegler- Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer, K. Großkreutz, Sahin, Le Tallec, Zidan, Valdez, Barrios
Eintracht Frankfurt: Nikolov- Jung, Franz, Russ, Spycher, Chris, P. Ochs, Meier, Teber, Köhler, Halil Altintop
Borussia Dortmund against Eintracht Frankfurt: Preview
Borussia Dortmund look to splash doubts of a lack of good form and are setting their sights on Frankfurt. Dortmund fell last weekend 1-4 against a strong Suttgart side away from home. The Westfalen return home and will have the support of 70,000 or more fans rooting for them for the clash against Frankfurt on Sunday (17.30).
Dortmund will have Mohamad Zidan back in the squad and it appears that Sven Bender is fit. Bender will be a game time decision, but in training today he had no pain from an earlier complication from the knee. Dortmund will be missing star midfielder Kuba who is suffering from back problems. Felipe Santana is still making a recovery from a bone bruise but the prognosis is looking better.
Frankfurt have a strew of their own players missing but much of their starting eleven has not been badly effected. Big Star missing from Frankfurt is the Greek forward Amanatidis. Dortmund can cushion their lead on Frankfurt in a European place with a win. Frankfurt is eight points behind Dortmund and a win would see Dortmund move eleven points clear of Frankfurt. Dortmund currently sit fourth in the table on 36 points and are looking ambitiously to play European football this year.
Possible Lineups:
Borussia Dortmund: Ziegler - Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - Bender (Santana), Sahin - Valdez, Zidan, Großkreutz - Barrios.
Bench: Höttecke - Dede, Hünemeier, Santana, Hajnal, Götze, Ginczek, Stiepermann.
Questionable: Bender, Barrios, Santana.
Missing: Weidenfeller, Kuba, Kehl, Tinga, Feulner, Rangelov, Öztekin.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Nikolov - Franz, Russ, Chris, Spycher - Teber - Ochs, Meier, Liberopoulos, Köhler - Altintop.
Bench: Fährmann - Jung, Heller, Tsoumou, Caio, Toski, Titsch-Rivero
Questionable: Chris, Teber.
Missing: Petkovic, Vasoski, Bajramovic, Korkmaz, Clark, Fenin, Amanatidis, Schwegler, Tosun, Alvarez.
Referee: Unknown
Yellow Card Tally: Barrios, Sahin, Valdez, Schmelzer (all 4) - Teber (9), Ochs (4).
Attendance: 70,000(unofficial number)
Dortmund suffer at the hands of Stuttgart
Stuttgart 4 - 1 Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmunds unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end today as they lost 4-1 against Stuttgart. Dortmund had previously gone 12 games unbeaten. But Stuttgart are also on a good streak and proved too powerful for Dortmund.
Before the match Stuttgart sat in 13 place on the table and Dortmund in 4th. Luckily for Dortmund they continue to occupy 4th spot but this win moves Stuttgart up to 10th place.
Stuttgart went ahead in the 14th minute when Pogrebnyak scored from close range with what would have been Stuttgarts only shot on goal in the first half. The Stuttgart defence stood strong as Borussia Dortmund came at them during the first half.
In the second half Stuttgart had numerous chances to extend their lead, most notably when Ciprian Marica hit the crossbar from the penalty spot on the 47th minute. Three minutes later though Dortmund had equalised after Grosskreutz played in Barrios who fired home. Both teams then fought for the lead.
Stuttgart then went on to score 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to rid of any hopes of Dortmund getting a 7th win in a row. Kuzmanovic (77'), Marica (86') and Träsch (89')
VfB Stuttgart: Lehmann - Celozzi, Niedermeier, Tasci, Molinaro - Träsch, Khedira - Gebhart, Hleb - Marica, Pogrebnyak.
Bor. Dortmund: Ziegler - Owomoyela, Subotic, Santana, Schmelzer - Hummels, Sahin - Kuba, Valdez, Großkreutz - Barrios.
Sunstitutions: 59. Hilbert for Hleb, 65. Kuzmanovic for Gebhart - 22. Le Tallec for Kuba, 85. Hajnal and Götze for Valdez und Santana.
Goals: 1:0 Pogrebnyak, 1:1 Barrios , 2:1 Kuzmanovic, 3:1 Marica, 4:1 Träsch .
Referee: Gagelmann (Bremen), Yellow Cards: Marica, Pogrebnyak - Sahin, Santana, Barrios, Schmelzer.
Attendance: 42.000.
Stuttgart vs BVB
VFB STUTTGART - BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Sunday, 31. January 2010, (Mercedes-Benz-Arena)
Following on from their win against Hamburg, Borussia Dortmund travel to face Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz-Arena. Klopp's side are currently on a 12 match unbeaten run, notching up 6 wins in a row.
Stuttgart are currently sitting in 11th place and are eager to progress further up the table. But Stuttgart have only managed to win twice in the last 9 meetings between these sides. Only once in the last 4 at home. Dortmund are sitting in 4th place after their recent good run.
VfB Stuttgart: Lehmann - Celozzi, Niedermeier, Tasci, Molinaro - Träsch, Khedira - Hilbert, Hleb - Marica, Pogrebnyak.
Substitutes: Ulreich - Osorio, Boulahrouz, Hitzlsperger, Gebhart, Boka, Rudy, Cacau, Kuzmanovic, Schieber.
Doubtful: Cacau .
Injured: Lanig , Delpierre .
Borussia Dortmund: Ziegler - Owomoyela, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - Bender (Santana), Sahin - Kuba, Valdez, Großkreutz - Barrios.
Subtitutes: Höttecke - Koch, Dede, Santana, Hajnal, Götze, Ginczek, Stiepermann.
Doubtful: Bender , Sahin .
Injured: Weidenfeller , Kehl, Tinga , Zidan (Afrika-Cup), Feulner , Rangelov , Öztekin.
Valdez and Dortmund smash HSV, secure 4th place
Borussia Dortmund secured fourth place in stunning fashion in a convincing win over Hamburger SV. The Dortmund machine keeps plowing through league opponents and found their next victim in HSV. Dortmund dominated the game for 60 minutes before the guests could react. Nelson Valdez scored the winning goal in the 36th minute off of a smashing strike that left HSV keeper Frank Rost helpless. The Dortmund faithful were elated with joy and the goal turned out to be the winner. HSV were helpless in the first half and were lucky not to go down by two goals or more. Kuba suffered a knock to his mouth and spewed blood on the sidelines. He wasn't to be taken out of the game though and came back with a bang in the second half. Kuba created many chances down the right side but Dortmund failed to capitalize. Barrios had perhaps the best chance in the second half to make it 2-0, leaving Mathijsen in the dust off of a turn but Frank Rost was able to parry the ball away. HSV's best chance was from Mladen Petric late in the second half when the ex-Dortmund striker grazed the top of the netting off of a fine header from a dangerous cross. It wasn't to be for HSV and Dortmund fans can now celebrate 4th place in the league. The Klopp side are showing they may have something to say in the title run still, but for now have created a distance of 8 points from themselves from the following pack for European places.
Lineups:
Borussia Dortmund:
Dortmund seals a comfortable 2-0 win in Paderborn
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