In the second half, Holstein Kiel had little to counter Wolfsburg’s power play. Nevertheless, the KSV got a point from Lower Saxony. Thanks to the “virtues of running, scratching, biting,” as captain Timo Becker said.
Timo Becker and Holstein Kiel didn’t give up and secured a 2-2 draw in Wolfsburg.
picture alliance/dpa
Even in the ninth attempt it didn’t work out with the first away win in Bundesliga history for Holstein Kiel. Despite taking the lead for a while, the storks had to be happy in the final score that they had at least secured their third draw on a foreign pitch against VfL Wolfsburg.
After the not undeserved 1-0 half-time lead, the Kiel team were overrun after the restart and were lucky that VfL were only able to score two goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half. So after almost 60 minutes without a goal of his own, Steven Skrzybski was finally able to secure the 2-2 draw with his first goal of the season from a tight angle out of nowhere, with a good deal of luck playing a part in the tunnel against Wolfsburg’s goalkeeper Grabara was.
In the first half of the season we often stood there, played well, but lost. Now we seem to have been lucky to get a point.
“We came out to win. At the end of the day, we’re happy that we got a point,” explains coach Marcel Rapp DAZN. “In the first half of the season we often stood there, played well, but lost. Now we seem to have been lucky to get a point.” Kiel’s five shots on goal compare to VfL’s 22, which twice hit the crossbar and missed other good opportunities. “We were very efficient with our scoring chances,” says Rapp.
-Efficiency is one thing, constant belief in yourself is another, as captain Timo Becker emphasized. “We never give up. Our team knows that we have to fight hard for every point. Today was a game like that. It wasn’t our best game with the ball, but we gave everything we had against the ball,” said the 27-year-old . “Then you wait for an attack like that and in the end you’re rewarded with a point. I’m just happy.”
It was obvious to Becker that the Kiel team followed through with their match plan of retreating after taking the lead and relying on relief attacks. “As an underdog, you have no other choice,” said the defender, justifying the style of play, which probably caused little enthusiasm among the neutral spectators. “The others are so good on the ball, they also play at home and have a great rug here. Then, as a newcomer, it will be difficult to keep up on an equal level. But then you just have the virtues of running, scratching, biting. We have that shown today.”
Bochum is coming to Kiel in two weeks
Nevertheless, the Storks still have a lot of work to do; winning points simply won’t help them make big jumps in the table in the relegation battle. The gap to the relegation place is two points; at the weekend, four competitors in the basement, Augsburg and Heidenheim as well as St. Pauli and Union, face each other in direct duels.
While Becker called for us to become more “robust,” Rapp made it clear: “It continues and we will continue to score points diligently.” Next Saturday we go to league leaders Bayern Munich (3:30 p.m.), then bottom team Bochum come to the fjord (February 9, 3:30 p.m., both LIVE! on kicker).
Morocco
