Onwards for SVE: 2:0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf
SV Elversberg are marching on through the 2. Bundesliga with a well-deserved 2:0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf. Their status as a top team is now indisputable.
Fortuna Düsseldorf faced a strong SV Elversberg team in a 2. Bundesliga match. The hosts, who are currently going through a difficult phase and have been three games without a win, were in a tight spot. Elversberg, on the other hand, were arriving heads held high following an impressive success against Hannover 96 and could build on a consistent starting eleven.
Düsseldorf began in punchy form and eked out some early opportunities. Fortuna had greater ball possession in the first few minutes and piled the pressure on the away team with intense pressing. This gave rise to a corner for the home team during the early stages of the match, but Pejcinovic was unable to capitalise with his header (6th minute). Elversberg defended compactly and ensured quick transitions, but initially remained caught up in the Düsseldorf defence. As the game went on, intensity levels grew, but without any clear wealth of opportunities. In the 31st minute, Elversberg’s most dangerous striker Fisnik Asllani posed the first danger to the home goal following a corner. This prompted a short period of frantic football: Fortuna’s Schmidt narrowly missed the goal (32nd minute), whilst for the opposing team, Oberdorf nearly scored an own goal (35th minute) and then Asllani hit the crossbar with a technically ambitious shot (37th minute). After this period of excitement, both teams settled back down and the match reached half time with no goals for either side.
After the break, Düsseldorf tried to take control. Pejcinovic’s direct shot was blocked (48th minute) and Hoffmann failed to beat the Elversberg goalkeeper Kristof with a header (52nd minute). However, then the tide turned in the away team’s favour: after an unsuccessful clearance by Iyoha, the ball ended up with Asllani, who responded from close range to score his eighth goal of the season and secure the lead (58th minute). Fortuna did not seem shocked and immediately tried to equalise. However, Schmidt’s goal was disallowed as offside. The home team amped up the threat, but Elversberg countered in masterful form: Petkov, substituted on at half time, completed a perfectly played attack to put the score at 2:0 (65th minute). The home team continued to press for an equaliser but failed to score, due either to the brilliant Nicolas Kristof – like Johannesson’s spectacular attempt (69th minute) – or to their own bad luck. Baum was then able to able to rescue the ball from danger for Elversberg (81st minute), demonstrating that Düsseldorf would not be successful in gaining any goals. A penalty was briefly imposed for an alleged handball by Rohr, but rescinded after VAR review (84th minute). In extra time, Thioune once again put all his eggs in one basket and brought Vermeij on. He endangered their opponent’s goal with headers twice (90th+1 minute, 90th+2 minute), but these failed to change the end result: Elversberg returned home from Düsseldorf with three points.
Once again we brought huge quality to the pitch, we gave 100 percent, we can be proud. But we also know where we come from, and remain grounded and grateful.
Fisnik Asllani
Düsseldorf’s coach Daniel Thioune was visibly frustrated after the match: ‘This is hugely disappointing. The results are awful, this is a difficult, challenging stage.’ Defensive stalwart André Hoffmann added his view of the lingering issues: ‘The way we are playing at the moment, we are struggling to create opportunities and are not backed up by defence – so it is no surprise when we lose matches against good teams like Elversberg.’ Fisnik Asllani was once again man of the match for Elversberg. The striker, who is no longer shying away from this description as a top team, emphasised: ‘Once again we brought huge quality to the pitch, we gave 100 percent, we can be proud. But we also know where we come from, and remain grounded and grateful.’
Coach Horst Steffen was similarly proud after the success: ‘This is a fantastic interim result, including how we gained the victory. I am delighted with the win and the lack of goals conceded. We had to fight hard today. It was a game of various phases. In the second half, I felt that whoever scored the first goal would probably win the match. And we did it.’ As well as offensive moments, Steffen also praised his team’s defensive performance: ‘We relied on Nicolas in goal, or there was always a foot that appeared in-between.’ The coach was particularly happy with his own personal support: ‘It was a wonderful game because lots of my friends and family who would otherwise only be watching on TV were here in the stadium.’
Elversberg are continuing to impress with their performance against the top teams in the league. With 13 points scored out of a potential 15 against the 2. Bundesliga greats, the team have proven that they deserve their spot at the top. The fans rounded off the evening by achieving a new record for away supporters, underscoring the euphoria surrounding the team.
This weekend brings another highlight: frontrunners SC Paderborn are heading to the URSAPHARM Arena. Elversberg have already had wins against table leaders, and success in this match could move the team up to the top of the table themselves – a state of affairs that would put even more wind in their sails.