Wolfsburg break losing streak in Bundesliga
September 19th, 2009 - 5:13 am ICT by IANSGelsenkirchen (Germany), Sep 19 (DPA) Edin Dzeko scored twice in the second half for VfL Wolfsburg to give the reigning champions a 2-1 victory at Schalke 04 in a Bundesliga match on Friday.
The victory sees the club from northern Germany avoiding making history by becoming the first reigning champion to lose four games in a row.
The goal for the team now coached by Felix Magath, who last year led Wolfsburg to their first-ever championship, was scored by Benedikt Hoewedes.
Neither side managed to score in the first half although last season’s top scorer Grafite had a golden opportunity for Wolfsburg, but slid past a ball played into the centre by Sascha Riether.
Shortly afterwards Schalke players had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down after Wolfsburg captain Josua brought down Rafinha in the area, but the referee waved play on.
Dzeko finally broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a well-taken header after a Wolfsburg corner to score his first goal of the season.
The home side then threw caution to wind and pushed forward in search of an equalizer, which they scored ten minutes from the end through Hoewedes, whose header after a corner gave goalkeeper Andre Lenz no chance.
But even before the stadium announcer had finished announcing the name of the scorer, Dzeko restored the visitors’ lead after being set up Makoto Hasebe.
Former Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi thought he had levelled matters again when his header crashed against the upright and then seemed to cross the line, but the referee again waved play on.
The win sees Armin Veh’s side move to five in the table on nine points, while Schalke remain third on ten.
Table-topping SV Hamburg and second-placed Bayer Leverkusen are on 13 points ahead of their games on the weekend.
- Wolfsburg win at Schalke, avoid making history - Sep 19, 2009
- Late goal prevents Leverkusen opening a gap at the top - Feb 22, 2010
- Man City set to sign Edin Dzeko for 34 million pounds - Dec 30, 2010
- Wolfsburg concede late 1-1 in Hamburg under new coach - Jan 30, 2010
- Champions Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 2-0 in Bundesliga opener - Aug 08, 2009
- Grafite voted Germany's football of the year - Aug 02, 2009
- Schalke keep pace with leaders, Frankfurt enjoy late win - Feb 15, 2010
- Grafite extends contract with Wolfsburg until 2012 - Jun 30, 2009
- Schalke 'autumn champions' - at least for a day - Dec 19, 2009
- Three-goal Leverkusen go top; more woe for Wolfsburg - Jan 25, 2010
- Munich, Bremen, Schalke move into German Cup quarters - Oct 29, 2009
- Schalke defeat Berlin for second place of German Bundesliga - Dec 10, 2011
- Top scorer Grafite set to renew Wolfsburg contract - Jun 26, 2009
- Four-goal Bayern crush Juve; joy for Real, AC Milan, CSKA - Dec 09, 2009
- Ribery shoots Bayern Munich back to top of Bundesliga - Mar 01, 2010
Tags: armin veh, bayer leverkusen, benedikt, deadlock, equalizer, felix magath, four games, gelsenkirchen germany, goalkeeper, golden opportunity, grafite, josua, kevin kuranyi, losing streak, makoto, northern germany, schalke 04, stadium announcer, striker, sv hamburg