You just have to rely on Captain Martin Männel (37)!
Goalkeeper of Erzgebirge Aue secured a point for the Violets in a 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart II in front of 6,821 fans at the Erzgebirgsstadion – with a brilliant performance!
After 30 minutes, Männel first parried Noah Darvich’s foul penalty and then guided his follow-up header onto the crossbar. Madness! It was the 16th penalty saved in his career. The goalkeeper is also celebrating another anniversary: his 550th competitive match for Aue!
Violets struggle for a long time in freezing cold weather. Stuttgart’s youngsters played smartly going forward, steady at the back – and Männel had to make a save from Mansour Ouro-Tagba after just three minutes.
After the break, Aue was better: Julian Günther-Schmidt (48) almost missed, Ryan Malone (56) headed the post – and soon made a save with a header on the line.
In the final phase things became difficult again. VfB had the better of the game, but Aue was unlucky in stoppage time – Jannic Ehlers went close twice.
In the end, one point remained – thanks to Männel! However, Aue is still stuck in the relegation zone with 17 points.
