1860 Munich 1-1 Eintracht Braunschweig

EINTRACHT Braunschweig’s 100 per cent start to the season came to an end at a packed Allianz Arena this afternoon, as the 2. Bundesliga leaders were held to a 1-1 draw by 1860 Munich. Both sides missed a number of chances, with Braunschweig guilty of not putting the game to bed in the first half following Domi Kumbela’s opener, and 1860 Munich guilty of not making the most of their improved penetration and attempts on goal in the second period. By the end of the game, a nervy, bitty and generally uninspiring affair, Braunschweig coach Torsten Lieberknecht looked to hold onto the draw – a result that gives his side a two-point lead over second-placed Energie Cottbus in the table. As for 1860 coach Reiner Maurer, although he will be pleased that his side maintained their own unbeaten start to the 2012/13 campaign, he will be disappointed his side did not go on and win today, as come the end of the season, it is far likelier they – rather than Braunschweig – will be challenging for promotion.

Match preview here.

Starting formations

1860 Munich (4-2-3-1, from right to left): Gábor Király; Grzegorz Wojtkowiak, Necat Aygün, Guillermo Vallori, Moritz Volz; Dominik Stahl, Kai Bülow; Marin Tomasov, Daniel Bierofka, Daniel Halfar; Benjamin Lauth

Eintracht Braunschweig (4-4-2, from right to left): Daniel Davari; Marcel Correia, Ermin Bičakčić, Deniz Doğan, Ken Reichel; Dennis Kruppke, Kevin Kratz, Norman Theuerkauf, Mirko Boland; Kumbela, Orhan Ademi

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1860 Munich-Eintracht Braunschweig preview

RUNAWAY 2. Bundesliga leaders Eintracht Braunschweig travel to fellow unbeaten side 1860 Munich this weekend looking to make it six wins out of six. The Lower Saxony minnows – who were in Germany’s 3. Liga as recently as last May – didn’t spend a cent on transfers over the summer, which makes their start to the 2012/13 season all the more impressive. Goals and assists have been spread out among the squad so far too, which bodes well for the rest of the campaign, because Braunschweig don’t have any star names in their squad, let alone a 20-goal-a-season striker.

Torsten Lieberknecht’s side will face their sternest test of the campaign to date in travelling to the 69,000-seater Allianz Arena on Sunday. Laying in wait are an 1860 Munich side who boast a number of ‘star’ names and have only conceded in one of their six games so far this season (ditto Braunschweig). The Bavarian side have also been more prolific in front of goal than the league-leaders, who have scored eight goals to 1860’s ten. However, although the visitors netted just 37 goals in 34 games last season, they conceded the third least amount of goals in 2. Bundesliga: therefore, this match promises to be tight, but also a real litmus test for both sides.

Karlsruhe 1-3 Eintracht Braunschweig

They key first half formations. Karlsruhe, in blue, are depicted in the 4-4-2-cum-4-2-2-2 which saw them boss the first boss the opening 15 minutes of the game. Braunschweig, meanwhile, are pictured in the 4-2-3-1 which saw them take control of the game for the half's last half-hour.

Eintracht Braunschweig continued their superb start to the 2. Bundesliga season thanks to their coolness in front of goal and a genius tactical turnaround by coach Torsten Lieberknecht. Last season’s 3. Liga champions have now taken nine points from a possible 12, and restricted experienced second division side Karlsruhe to mere half-chances as they chased the game with high-calibre players such as Delron Buckley.

Match preview here. 

A cautious start by the away side meant that whenever lone attacker Dominick Kumbela got the chance to break, he had no support and thus, no chance of making something happen. His colleagues were content to sit off, waiting until Karlsruhe’s players were all in the other half save for the centre-backs and ‘keeper before pressing. This negativity so nearly resulted in the hosts taking the lead in the opening few minutes; Buckley launching a mazy dribble after Kumbela was robbed, and slipping through a disguised pass which eventually found its way through to Klemen Lavrič, on it after diagonal run.
His shot whizzed across Daniel Davari’s goal, sent out – just – for a corner by Marcel Correira getting a shin on the ball.

The visitors were nervy all over the pitch in the opening ten minutes – messing up simple controls, giving away needless fouls, and unable to consolidate themselves in any sort of shape whatsoever. And, they paid the price for their sloppy start in the ninth minute, resulting primarily from Correira giving away a needless free-kick just off the D. Buckley ran over the dead ball, but although no one was fooled, Davari could do nothing to stop Timo Staffeldt curling the ball into the top right-hand corner for 1-0!

Staffeldt deserved his goal, as he was superb in the opening 15 minutes. Playing in a side that pressed high, if not frantically, the Karlsruhe midfielder was always about with midfield colleagues Steffen Haus to win tackles, mop up loose balls and make the side tick over by playing simple forward passes. Braunschweig, for whom Lieberknecht had made several personnel changes and had moved various other players into new positions, seemingly possessed no such player, and therefore, they played with no such rhythm. Although Braunschweig continued to panic in one-on-one duels and still had no one to support Kumbela in attack as we approached the 20-minute mark, the home side’s defence were doing their job well – narrowing into a semi-ring shape whenever their attacking colleagues lost the ball, and taking advantage of the fact that Kumbela was always receiving passes in the centre with no yellow-shirted player on the wings.

Karlsruhe-Eintracht Braunschweig preview

The 2. Bundesliga season is now in full swing, entering its fourth round with a fixture between the sides currently in sixth and seventh spot respectively; newly promoted Eintracht Braunschweig visiting Baden-Württemberg side Karlsruhe, stuck in the second tier since Bundesliga relegation in 2009. The game will be played at the Wildparkstadion, which hosted the midweek U21 international between Germany and Cyprus, and the referee is Thomas Metzen.

After starting out with home and away wins against 1860 Munich and Alemannia Aachen, Braunschweig have been brought back down to earth recently after a cup exit to Bayern Munich, and a 3-0 league hammering by Eintracht Frankfurt. The Lower Saxony side, notorious for their financial misdemeanours and escapades (the club were embroiled in the Bundesliga match fixing scandal of 1971, but were also the first German side to stitch a sponsor logo on their jerseys two years later), are experiencing their first stint in 2. Bundesliga since the 2006/07 season. As a result, coach Torsten Lieberknecht has noted that as they face a battle to stay in the division, he may have to alter his favoured 4-1-4-1 formation on occasion to ensure things are kept as tight as possible at the back.

Eintracht Braunschweig 3-1 1860 Munich

The first half formations

Newly-promoted Eintracht Braunschweig fired a warning shot to the rest of the league as they tactically outwitted 2. Bundesliga stalwarts 1860 Munich with a potent display.

Match preview here.

A vociferous home crowd couldn’t prevent the visitors from jumping into the driving seat early on, bossing the ball, winning a corner, and having three blocked efforts on goal. With Collin Benjamin throwing himself into a mopping up job with relish, the former HSV man helped maintain 1860s pacy start, and ruined Braunschweig’s attempts to position their midfield bank of four as near to the lone striker Dominick Kumbela as possible. Nevertheless, the away side gradually became a bit too quick for their own good, and began to leave gaps. Braunschweig were beginning to acclimatise to the tempo by the fifth minute, and when Dennis Malura was robbed on a burst upfield, Mirko Boland robbed him, played a one-two with Kumbela, and his subsequent jinx drew a free-kick on the wing in a decent position.

Eintracht Braunschweig-1860 Munich preview

The opening round of the 2011/12 2. Bundesliga season enters its third day today, with the club promoted as champions from 3. Liga hosting the perennially troubled capital city side. Little over ten years ago, 1860 Munich were playing Leeds United in a Champions League tie. But, in the years since, both clubs have suffered financial turmoil and prolonged spells in the lower leagues, although Leeds’ star shined a little longer than 1860’s before dimming. Nevertheless, the Bavarian club’s financial situation is getting better thanks to some mooted Jordanian investment, and a wage dispute dating back to November was resolved earlier this week.