Majer to the rescue

VfL Wolfsburg put in a battling performance to earn a 1-0 victory away to promoted side Darmstadt on Saturday thanks to Lovro Majer’s 63rd-minute winner. The result ended a run of six consecutive away defeats, and came about despite Maxence Lacroix being sent off in the first half (28’).

The Wolves play their final game of the year on Wednesday 20 December at home to Bayern Munich at the Volkswagen Arena (kick-off 20:30 CET) before heading into the winter break.

0-1 Majer (63’): Yesssss! Despite being a man down, the Wolves break the deadlock with the all-important opener. A cross into the box finds Jonas Wind, who does brilliantly to cushion the ball off to Majer, who produces a fine finish into the far corner.

Niko Kovac: “It’s a very important win for us. We worked hard for it and defended passionately. The game was symptomatic of the position we’re in. We’ve had to overcome lots of hurdles, and today was no different. We started the game well in the first 15 minutes, but it was more even after that. After the red card we had to adapt and cover the extra ground. We defended well against the ball. Today we had two shots on target and had the ruthlessness we needed up front with a man down. That was important today. We knew it wouldn’t be a goal-filled spectacle, but it was important to win the game. We did that, so we’re happy.”

Torsten Lieberknecht: “Congratulations to Niko and VfL for the win. It always feels strange to lose when you have an extra man, but with the quality Wolfsburg have they can always create chances. Today we switched off once and that was enough to fall behind. That goal made the difference. I wish the boys and all of us that little bit of luck we need to get points. Now we’re looking ahead to the game against Hoffenheim.”

SV Darmstadt 98: Schuhen – Isherwood (84‘ Maglica), Riedel (65‘ Torsiello), Klarer (65‘ Ronstadt) – Karic, Schnellhardt (84‘ Kempe), Gjasula, Franjic, Pfeiffer – Skarke, Honsak (65‘ Bader)

Subs: M. Behrens (GK), Brunst (GK), J. Müller, A. Müller

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Lacroix, Jenz, Bornauw – Baku (90‘+5 Zesiger), Maehle, Vranckx, Svanberg (90‘+5 Amoako), Gerhardt (87‘ Paredes), Majer (87‘ Kaminski) – Wind

Subs: Pervan (GK), Fischer, Cozza, Cerny, Tomas

Goals: 0-1 Majer (63‘)

Yellow cards: Honsak, Gjasula / –

Red card: Lacroix (28‘)

Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)

Attendance: 16,900 at Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Darmstadt