Erzgebirge Aue celebrated the long-awaited first win of this third division season. The team of interim coach Carsten Müller delivered a furious performance against SV Meppen on Friday, especially in the first half. Even being outnumbered for almost 30 minutes did not shake the success, in which Dimitrij Nazarov scored with a dream goal.
After months of bitter disappointment, the knot at Erzgebirge Aue has finally burst in the 3rd division. Under interim coach Carsten Müller, the Saxons celebrated a clear 3-0 (2-0) win against SV Meppen on Friday evening (09/30/2022). This leaves Aue in last place in the table and initially moves up to two points on a non-relegation zone.
Aue’s interim coach Müller sat like the scarce one Success in the Sachsenpokal against Eilenburg to captain Martin Männel between the posts. In addition, Lenn Jastremski replaced Elias Huth in the attack, flanked by Dimitrij Nazarov and Maximilian Thiel. In Meppen, who had recently drawn four times in a row, only Steffen Puttkammer replaced Jonas Fedl, who was suspended.
Aue begins boldly
Aue was very committed to the first few minutes and tried to take control of the game. The ball and opponents were attacked early, and the hosts showed themselves to be gripping in the duel. Jastremski had the first attack worth mentioning, but he headed well wide of the goal after a cross from Anthony Barylla (8′). Meppen initially lurked for counterattacks and tried to build up the game in an orderly manner. After a good quarter of an hour, however, the Emslanders became more active. Steffen Puttkammer had the chance to take the lead on his foot after 24 minutes, but shot the ball well over the ball after Auer lost the ball in the build-up game. Nazarov didn’t do any better in return either and missed the target with his turning shot from 15 meters (25′).
Baumgart with a head, Nazarov with a dream goal
After a good half hour, however, cheers erupted in the stands. After a throw-in in the left sixteen, Thiel prevailed in a confined space and chipped the ball in front of the goal. Tom Baumgart had no trouble heading in from close range (31′). As a result, the chances added up for both sides. Marvin Pourié put the ball past the left of the goal after an inaccurate pass from Männel (35′), shortly afterwards Meppen’s top scorer dropped the ball from 18 meters onto the crossbar (38′).
Erzgebirge Aue celebrates the opening goal by Tom Baumgart.
Things got heated – and spectacular – in added time. Marco Schikora’s goal after a free kick was initially denied due to an offside position (45+2), before Nazarov scored with a dream goal. After another Thiel free kick, the Meppen defense headed the ball in front of the Azerbaijani’s feet, who welded the ball into the right angle from more than 20 meters in the left half (45+5).
Nkansah puts the lid on, Thiel sees red
The dream goal was followed by a dream start in the second half. A corner kick from Thiel slipped through the first post, so Steffen Nkansah only had to put his foot down in the center and slid in to make it 3-0 (49′). The third goal gave FCE even more self-confidence and let the frustration of the past weeks and months fall away more and more. Männel acted confidently in the box, Nazarov convinced with playfulness and cheeky chip balls. There was also luck when substitute Marius Kleinsorge hit the post for Meppen (59th). Shortly thereafter, the game took a surprising turn. The hitherto outstanding Thiel came too late against Christoph Hemlein and hit his opponent head-on in the foot. Referee Sather pulled out a red card – a very tough decision (62′).
Referee Alexander Sather sent off Aues Maximilian Thiel
According to the now numerical conditions on the pitch, the game action shifted. Samuel Abifade’s shot from the second row hit the right post after 66 minutes. Aue locked himself in his own half and was initially unable to provide any relief. Meppen ran into Männel’s box without a break, but missed the goal. As the game went on, the guests’ belief that they could screw up the result dwindled. The pressure eased and Aue safely rocked the clear and, above all, well-deserved success home.
Rico Schmitt in the stands
On the other hand, it is still open who will become the new coach for the violets. An old acquaintance and hot candidate was at least spotted in the stands on Friday evening: Rico Schmitt. The 54-year-old was already active in Aue from 2008 to 2012. Until May of this year, he had trained Aue’s current opponent Meppen, of all people. In any case, Schmitt saw a thrilling performance by his possible future employer.
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