One thing that was immediately apparent was that if it was to be a crappy performance, nobody would be able to see it. The thick mantle of fog hung over the Zoo-Stadion, and it was very difficult to see anything. Whether that meant that the referee would do better or worse was of course open to question :)
The first blow actually fell before the whistle. (Photo 21K) . Saarbruecken was the victim, as their "goal-getter" Branko Zibert was scratched from the lineup due to injury. Given the usual nervousness of the Wuppertal defense in the last few weeks, this was a welcome sign for WSV. Nevertheless, right from the get-go, WSV showed that this game might be different, as they immediately seized the initiative. After only 9 minutes, Brent Goulet rocketed a shot from 25 meters offf the cross bar.
WSV continued to press, as Saarbruecken looked rather harmless, and was unable to get control of things. After 25 minutes, Vlatko Glavas broke down the right side. His floating cross was met by Babacar N'Diaye, who outleapt two defenders and caught Saarbruecken's goalkeeper Ebertz flat-footed: 1-0 WSV. (Photo, 13K) ) The man from Senegal was the finisher again as he beat Ebertz once again some 15 minutes later.
In the 2nd half, WSV continued to press, and Brent Goulet drove in the final nail in the coffin only 5 minutes after the restart. Leading 3-0, it now seemed as if WSV would coast home with a rout, which would be an enjoyable payback for a 2-7 slaughter suffered a couple of years ago in the Saarland. However, WSV is embarassed by riches, so they decided to even things out a bit. Sven Backhaus commited a silly foul in front of the box, and got the red card. Dario Brose then curved the resulting free kick from 18 meters over the wall and into the net.
Saarbruecken now controlled the game for the rest of the match, but lacked any finishing up front. WSV coach "Ali" Hoefer made a couple of defensive subs, and WSV was able to ride out the time against the toothless visitors. Gramse was really forced to come up with with good save, against Wuckel in the 73rd minute. Meanwhile, N'diaye had a couple of chances that Ebertz managed to save.
Overall, a good performance by WSV, especially for the first 50 minutes. Although one shouldn't make too much of this win, since Saarbruecken is in a crisis of at least equal proportions with Wuppertal, perhaps things are settling down now.
Standings after Round 14