Fixtures

VfR Aalen - FCK

FCK head coach Franco Foda made one change to his side, naming fit again Jan Simunek for Anthar Yahia. Simunek started alongside Abel in central defense, with Dick and Bugera at full-back and Sippel in goal. Borysiuk and Alushi anchored midfield, with Vermouth and Zuck on the wings, and Idrissou alongside Bunjaku up front.

The Red Devils started strongly, with Idrissou creating the first chance of the game on six minutes after some excellent work from Bunjaku, but the Cameroonian dragged his 20-yard drive narrowly wide of the right post. Foda’s men dominated possession in the opening 15 minutes and created some nice openings. However, the next chance fell to the hosts when Kampl fed Lechleitner at the far post, but the striker saw his attempt miss the target (14’).

Two minutes on from that, FCK team captain Bunjaku hared towards the home goal and found himself felled at the penalty area boundary line. The referee pointed to the spot immediately and the Swiss striker put his side in the lead on 16 minutes, firing the ball just under the crossbar and leaving Aalen’s ‘keeper with no chance to save. The Red Devils carved out the next chance when Bugera set up Bunjaku in front of goal, but the Swiss’ shot missed the target.

The hosts equalized from the penalty spot on 25 minutes after a handball by Simunek. The crowd at the Scholz Arena saw a lively first half with chances at both ends. Mo Idrissou had the ball in the net on 34 minutes, but the Cameroonian striker was ruled offside. At the other end, Lechleitner forced a smart reaction from Sippel as both sides pushed forward relentlessly.

With the half-time whistle beckoning, Dausch squandered another opportunity before Bunjaku directed his header narrowly over the bar. Three minutes before the break, Mo Idrissou stole the ball from Leandro and released Bunjaku into open space in front of the home goal. The FCK team captain left behind his marker and fired the ball past Bernhardt to restore his side’s lead (44’). Hendrick Zuck came within inches of doubling the lead, but the youngster dragged his shot narrowly wide of the right post shortly before half-time.

Zuck picked up where he left off, creating the first chance four minutes after the restart. Both sides put in a committed and concentrated performance, but goalmouth thrills were few and far between.

The next opening arrived two minutes after the hour-mark, but Sippel got down well to deny Hoffmann’s 22-yard drive. In an attempt to instill fresh energy into his side’s offensive unit, Foda replaced Vermouth with Fortounis on 69 minutes.

The action died down a bit midway through the second half as Aalen pushed for the equalizer, but Lautern’s defense stood firm. Alexander Bugera was forced off the field of play and Heintz took over at left-back position on 74 minutes.

With the clock ticking away, Foda’s men battled bravely to secure their first win of the 2012-13 season as they defeated VfR Aalen 2-1 and picked up three points away from home on Friday, August 10, 2012.