The pressure on coach Robert Klauß and his 1. FC Nürnberg was considerable. Then a last-minute home win against Arminia Bielefeld. Is that the initial spark?
Nuremberg (dpa / lby) - An XXL load fell from coach Robert Klauß and the Nuremberg football professionals. After the violent unrest during the week because of the disappointing start to the season in the 2nd Bundesliga, the last-minute win against Arminia Bielefeld felt like a soul massage.
"When the goal was scored, you saw what we lost. The week was restless. But we tried not to let that throw us off course," said match winner Lino Tempelmann after the well-deserved 1-0 (0 :0) on Friday evening. "Hopefully that gives us a boost for the next few weeks," he added.
At the last minute, Tempelmann let 1. FC Nürnberg celebrate in the duel of the Bundesliga record climbers. After a free kick by Mats Möller Daehli, the powerhouse headed the Franconians in the 90th minute in front of 26,641 spectators to their third win of the season.
"I'm surprised myself, I've never been known for my header strength. I'm happy that my head always works," said the 1.74 meter tall Tempelmann. "There really isn't anything better than a last-minute win. If you then get to score, it's even better."
After the sobering 2: 4 a week earlier in Braunschweig, Nuremberg showed the urgently needed reaction against offensively harmless Bielefeld. "We played a very good game from the first to the 90th minute. When you reward yourself like that in the 90th minute, it's a wonderful feeling," said Klauss after only seven points from seven games. "The next few weeks will show what it can do in the end. You can't assume from a game that you'll always call it up, but that's the goal."
The "club" showed a mature performance - and high frustration tolerance. First striker Kwadwo Duah missed chances like on a conveyor belt against the strong Bielefeld goalkeeper Martin Fraisl. And then the referee didn't play along either. In the 54th minute, the video referee denied a goal by the hapless Duah because the assist provider Felix Lohkemper was flagged for offside.
"I think it even gave the team a boost that they saw: it's our turn and we'll get the moments we want," said Klauß, describing the scene surrounding the denied goal. "We didn't let that get us down and tried to keep playing our game," explained midfielder Tempelmann.
At SV Darmstadt, Nuremberg want to add more next Saturday. "We don't need any pressure, we need consistency, on the one hand in our performances, but also in our staff when it comes to the injured," said Norwegian director Möller Daehli. "If we can do that, we'll have a good season."
