BERLIN: Derrick Koehn’s 69th minute goal lifted Werder Bremen to a 2-1 win at Mainz on Sunday, despite having to play the final half an hour with 10 men.

Marvin Ducksch gave Bremen the lead from the spot after Justin Njinmah was fouled in the box, with the injured player taken from the field as a result of the collision.

With former Mainz manager Jurgen Klopp watching on from the stands, the hosts hit back through Jae-sung Lee, who tapped in after goalkeeper Michael Zetterer spilled the ball at his feet.

Bremen’s chances of taking all three points looked dim when Marco Friedl saw straight red for a last-man foul with 60 minutes remaining, but Koehn’s goal on debut just nine minutes later put them in the driver’s seat.

Zetter redeemed himself for his error with a string of late saves to keep Bremen on track for their first win of the season.Four-time German champions Bremen finish the round in eighth, ahead of Mainz who sit 15th.

Earlier on Sunday, goals from Marius Wolf, Phillip Tietz and Yusuf Kabadayi took Augsburg to a 3-1 home win over promoted St Pauli.

Wolf, who moved from Dort­mund to Augsburg in the summer, broke the deadlock with a superb curling strike three minutes into the second half.

Tietz doubled the home side’s lead with a well-placed header on the 67-minute mark.

St Pauli’s Carlo Boukhalfa cut the deadlock shortly after — Pauli’s first goal since returning to the league — but the visitors were unable to break through, with Kabadayi grabbing his goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to seal the match.

The win was Augsburg’s first of the season and ended a winless run going back seven league matches, while St Pauli have now lost three from three on their return to the top flight.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024