Match summary:
Following four wins and one draw, VfB travelled to Fulham, 11th in the Premier League last term, for the final pre-season friendly of the summer. The Cannstatt boys lacked a cutting edge in attack in the first half at Craven Cottage. Ermedin Demirovic had an early attempt in the 13th minute from Badredine Bouanani’s fine through ball, shortly before Grischa Prömel tested goalkeeper Bernd Leno with a header from a corner.
Apart from that, head coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s side were mainly required to defend, with goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow distinguishing himself several times.
Deadlock broken shortly after hour mark
The hosts remained the more threatening side in the early part of the second half. Bredlow made another impressive save to deny Oscar Bobb in the 53rd minute, before being called into action again in the 64th minute to foil a double chance. Three minutes later, he was finally beaten when Timothy Castagne headed in what proved to be the winning goal from a corner.
Win in first meeting
In the morning, a behind-closed-doors friendly took place at the Fulham training ground, where VfB won 2-0 thanks to goals from Dženan Pejčinović and Chema.
Line-up VfB:
Bredlow – Stiller (73' Spalt), Mittelstädt, Tomas, Demirović (73' Rölke), Führich, Prömel, Chabot (73' Herwerth), Bouanani, Nartey, Jeltsch.
Line-up | behind-closed-doors friendly:
Funk – Al-Dakhil, Hendriks, Vagnoman, El Khannouss, Karazor, Pejčinović, Stergiou, Undav, Chema, Jovanović.
Goal:
1-0 – 67th minute: Fulham take the lead from a corner. Alex Iwobi delivers it to the near post, where Castagne heads it past Bredlow into the far corner.
Reaction:
Sebastian Hoeneß: “They were two good friendlies. We put in a decent performance in the first game. In the second, we were good for the first 15 minutes but less so for the rest. We had problems in our play without the ball and, as a result, were also untidy in our own possession. In the end, Fabian Bredlow ensured that it wasn’t a heavier defeat.”
