Marco Caligiuri's (c.) first-half strike proved enough for Freiburg in a tight contest with Greuther Fürth
Marco Caligiuri's (c.) first-half strike proved enough for Freiburg in a tight contest with Greuther Fürth

Fürth flounder in Freiburg

xwhatsappmailcopy-link

Freiburg - SC Freiburg remain within touching distance of the European qualification places courtesy of a narrow 1-0 win over cellar-dwellers SpVgg Greuther Fürth.

Freiburg on top

Daniel Caligiuri netted the only goal of the game for Christian Streich's side as they dug in for all three points against a Fürth outfit who are now without a goal in exactly 445 minutes of competitive action.

Patience was the name of the game during the opening exchanges as Freiburg and Fürth held each other at arm's length as the encounter struggled to strike up a rhythm. Robert Zillner fired wide with what turned out to be the visitors only chance of the half but, while they were doing well to disrupt Freiburg's attacking intent, the hosts soon took the lead when Caligiuri turned his man on the edge of the box before drilling an effort into the bottom corner.

The goal put the wind in Freiburg's sails as they began turning the lion's share of possession into clever combinations against their deep-lying opponents, who couldn't get to grips with proceedings. Jan Rosenthal squandered two chances, but at the other end the hosts' lead came under little threat before the end of the first half.

Too little, too late


Not much changed after the restart though as Fürth continued to toil by over complicating their forward movements and failing to test Oliver Baumann. Edgar Prib was the only bright spark for the visitors, yet even the midfielder's best efforts couldn't help Fürth find the target despite Freiburg inviting the Clover Leaves onto the front foot.

The hosts were demonstrating little attacking threat in the second period and seemed more intent on preserving their lead. That approach almost cost them though, when a defensive mix-up left Christopher Nöthe in front of an open-goal only for Pavel Krmas' sensational interception to deflect the ball onto the post and away from danger, in the last chance of the game.

Line-ups and statistics