No separating Bremen and Braunschweig
Bremen - SV Werder Bremen and Eintracht Braunschweig struggled with the wintry conditions in a 0-0 draw at the Weserstadion on Sunday evening.
Slow to warm up
New Braunschweig striker Havard Nielsen had a hat-trick of opportunities in the first half, while Bremen's Philipp Bargfrede missed the three best chances after the break as both sides were forced to settle for a point.
The sub-zero temperatures made for a stiff opening phase, though Nielsen was keen to impress on his debut having arrived on loan from RB Salzburg. The Norwegian spurned no fewer than three excellent chances – half of his side's total in the first half, with his first effort deflected behind by Santiago Garcia and two subsequent close-range headers gobbled up by grateful Bremen goalkeeper Raphael Wolf.
For their part, Bremen improved as the first half wore on, yet chances were at a premium for Robin Dutt's men. Aaron Hunt, who passed a late fitness test to maintain his ever-present record this season, created the best opportunity when he got to the by-line, but the power on his pull-back was too much for Nils Petersen to apply the finish.
No late joy
A thin layer of snow was already beginning to form for the game's second-half resumption and, after Philipp Bargfrede went close to breaking the deadlock when he struck the far post and Garcia's header from the subsequent corner was cleared off the line by Omar Elabdellaoui, it was time to bring out the yellow ball.
Eljero Elia did manage to find the net late on, but the linesman's flag had been raised and hopes of any late joy began to fade. Bargfrede was denied twice by Daniel Davari as the clock ran down, but ultimately neither side did enough to earn a winner.
Line-ups and statistics
Ben Gladwell
