Magdeburg wins a home game for the first time since May. Against Preußen Münster, patience, good defense, and a penalty kick help end the hours-long goal drought.
Interim coach Petrik Sander has secured his first home win of the season with 1. FC Magdeburg.
Maximilian Breunig (75th minute/penalty kick) and Rayan Ghrieb (90+2) scored the goals in the 2-0 win against Preußen Münster. Magdeburg remains at the bottom of the table, but is now level on points with Dynamo Dresden and VfL Bochum, two points behind a non-relegation spot.
“It’s not about whether I do something differently, but rather that we had a clear plan for how we wanted to approach this and we saw it through,” Sander said after the game. Goalscorer Breunig explained the penalty: “We don’t have a designated penalty taker. I had a good feeling all day and when the whistle blew, I knew I was going to take the ball.”
The 64-year-old Sander, who will be coaching FCM alongside Pascal Ibold on the sidelines in the DFB Cup match this Wednesday (6 p.m.) against Bavarian regional league club FV Illertissen, decided not to make any substitutions after the 0-0 draw in Darmstadt. Magdeburg struggled to control the game and scored early, but Atik’s goal (7th minute) was disallowed after VAR intervention due to offside.
Münster controls the game in a low-scoring match
The visitors had more of the ball, but the game was largely played between the penalty areas. Münster’s Malik Batmaz (25′) failed to beat the goalkeeper on a rare chance, as did Alexander Ahl-Holmström (35′) at the other end. After the break, FCM slowly became more active, but always had to be wary of counterattacks from the visitors.
Magdeburg lacked a clear offensive strategy, but both sides continued to create scoring opportunities, ultimately remaining too inaccurate. A penalty kick finally helped FCM end its goal drought: Breunig scored after 524 minutes. Magdeburg was now definitively the better team and increased its lead in stoppage time through Ghrieb.
Interim duo continues to make a case for itself
Three days before its cup match in Bavaria, FCM secured its second league win and regained some confidence. The interim duo of Sander and Ibold has now earned four points, one more than the luckless Markus Fiedler. It is possible that the interim duo will become a permanent solution after all.
Münster coach Alexander Ende said after the game: “We played very courageously and didn’t stray from our line and our convictions. We played a very good game as a group, but we didn’t take advantage of the moments that were there. Nevertheless, I have to compliment the team, which responded well in a special situation.”
1. FC Magdeburg: Reimann – Hugonet (45. Hyryläinen), Mathisen, Müller – Ulrich (90. Pesch), Michel, Musonda, Nollenberger – Hercher (90. Ghrieb), Holmström (60. Breunig), Atik.
Preußen Münster: Schenk – ter Horst (79. Tasov), Paetow, Heuer, Kirkeskov (84. Schulz) – Preißinger (84. Koulis), Sertdemir (71. Makridis), Hendrix, Bouchama – Batmaz (84. Benjamins), Batista Meier.
Referee: Robert Kampka (Mainz)
Goals: 1-0 Breunig (75., penalty), 2-0 Ghrieb (90.+2)
Yellow cards: Mathisen (4) – ter Horst (4), Paetow, Heuer (2), Hendrix (5)
Attendance: 23,002
