That 1.FC Nuremberg always more fun!
With a well-deserved 2-0 home win against newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld, Franconia celebrated their third win in a row and sixth game (!) without defeat. Even more important: the gap to the relegation zone has now increased to eight points. Being in ninth position, the club can now even aim for the top position in the standings for the first time.
Only the coach himself applies the brakes. FCN coach Miroslav Klose (47) urged caution: “We know there is a growing gap, but we are still looking down. It will take time until we can distance ourselves from there. We can only do that if we continue to show our best performance. And that has been the case for four or five weeks now.”
At icy Max Morlock Stadium, there was no warm-up from either team in the first half. The club had more of the ball, but there was almost no danger of scoring. As the cup finalists also restricted themselves more to playing against the ball, both teams entered the break with a performance-based score of 0-0.
But the freeze was worth it this afternoon, at least for the home fans: FCN came out of the dressing room after the break with plenty of steam and immediately restricted the East Westphalian side in their own penalty area. Justvan missed the lead with his shots (48). But in the same action, Finn Ole Becker (25) was hit in the leg by Corboz from Bielefeld – penalty!
And Nuremberg’s top player Rafael Lubach (20) used his bravery to make it 1-0. It was the fourth goal for the U20 national team player this season. And for Nuremberg, it was breast removal that saved.
Because after that it was only the club that stepped on the gas pedal. The logical consequence in the 56th minute: After a great combination through Lubach and Justvan, the ball ended up in Becker’s hands. The former Hoffenheim player scored safely, as he did in Düsseldorf (3:2) and against Braunschweig (2:1).
Völler revealed: An emotional moment in the DFB dressing room
The only downside: unfortunately a 2-0 start was the end of almost all of Nuremberg’s offensive efforts. After Markhiev was substituted due to injury (60./swollen ankle again), Bielefeld was almost the only player playing until the final whistle. But despite Schneider’s (89th) shot hitting the crossbar, Nuremberg energetically held on for their first clean sheet win of the season.
Center back Fabio Gruber (23) on the next step in development: “We played very maturely today. Very controlled in the first half, but we didn’t get into dangerous areas like we wanted. In the second half, the game was at full speed from the start and we gave it everything until the end.”
