SpVgg Greuther Fürth
VfB Stuttgart
| 0-1 | Okazaki | (45. Min) |
Gotoku Sakai
Serdar Tasci
Stats 
Ibrahima Traoré in action during the game.
Success with ten men
40 minutes with just ten men on the pitch, but VFB battled on to secure all three points, beating SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1-0 thanks to a Shinji Okazaki header.
Bruno Labbadia made a total of four changes to his starting eleven from midweek, with Arthur Boka, Zdravko Kuzmanovic, Tamas Hajnal and Shinji Okazaki getting the nod.
First chance for Ibisevic
It took until the 25th minute before Vedad Ibisevic had the first real chance of the match. Connecting with a Gotoku Sakai delivery, the VfB striker got a header goal-wards but the effort was no trouble for Fürth keeper Wolfgang Hesl. At the other end, Edgar Prib had the next opening for the hosts. Christopher Nöthe squared a ball which the Fürth man was poised to shove home but Serdar Tasci got a foot in to turn the ball away for a corner (34’).
As the half progressed, the game lost a great deal of its pace and there were few goal attempts to warm the crowd until very shortly before the half time break when Vedad Ibisevic jinked past his marker in the box but was felled and subsequently awarded a penalty. The striker took on the responsibility himself and blasted the ball straight down the centre. Wolfgang Hesl was able to block away the initial effort but Shinji Okazaki reacted quickest to head the loose ball home and give VfB a 1-0 to take into the break.
VfB striker Vedad Ibisevic: "It was clear that we would be faced with a nasty game and we were prepared for that." Post match comments
VfB with luck on their side
Directly after the restart a groan rang around the stadium. Following a cross from former VfB man Bernd Nehrig, Edgar Prib got a shot away but Sven Ulreich saved. Fürth remained in possession and Christopher Nöthe fired the rebound back goal-wards, only to have Gotoku Sakai clear off the goal-line. The side from the Franken region got yet another opportunity then to convert but this time only struck the post (47’).
The next talking point in the match was a less positive one for VfB. The in-form Serdar Tasci drove forwards toward the Fürth goal but played the ball too far ahead of himself and lunged forward in an attempt to rescue and connected with an opponent – a foul which the referee saw fit to punish with the red card (53’). A tough call against the VfB captain.
Prib hits the crossbar
The 2,000 travelling VfB fans were relieved again in the 78th minute as Edgar Prib curled in a free-kick from 20 meters out, only to see his effort bounce away off the cross bar. The visitors advantage was narrow and shaking but still intact!
Fürth continued to push forward in search of an equaliser but Bruno Labbadia’s men held steady at the back and clung on to earn a hard fought out away win.
