Miroslav Klose’s Nürnberg Closer to Promotion after Hard-Fought Victory
Nuremberg, Germany – Miroslav Klose’s 1. FC Nürnberg is inching ever closer to the promotion places in Germany’s second-tier Bundesliga 2 after another late goal secured a 2-0 win against SSV Ulm 1846 on Sunday.
The "Club" celebrated its third consecutive victory, a toughly contested and hard-earned triumph against a resolute Ulm side.
"We can still pack a punch," Klose exclaimed. And regardless of the standings, the FCN coach stated, "Yes, we are increasingly becoming a top team. I sense that something is happening here. We have a flow now."
However, Klose cautioned that it was "a game on equal terms" for a long time.
The match-winner, in the end, was the best player on the pitch: Casper Jander scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute, firing a powerful shot past the goalkeeper from 16 meters out after two pirouettes.
"Casper is a great player, the goal was good for him, and he rewarded himself," said teammate Julian Justvan.
Klose also celebrated enthusiastically on the sidelines after the liberating 1-0 goal. "I’ve spoken so much about Casper already. He’s a fantastic boy. And the ball obeys him. The boy has quality and can continue exactly like this," Klose said of the 21-year-old midfielder.
Janis Antiste, who came on as a substitute, added the insurance goal in injury time (90.+3). "It feels good to score the first goal for the Club," said the 22-year-old striker, who is on loan from Sassuolo Calcio in Italy. "The boy just wants to play soccer. He has something that we haven’t had in our squad before," Klose said of the young attacker.
The path to victory for FCN was paved by an Ulm player in front of 29,355 spectators at the Max-Morlock-Stadion. Maurice Krattenmacher, already on a yellow card, committed a blatant dive in the Nuremberg penalty area in the 59th minute. He was not touched or fouled by his opponent. Referee Richard Hempel showed Krattenmacher a second yellow and sent him off.
"The red card played into our hands," Justvan admitted. According to him, the belief in scoring late goals has taken hold in the team after recent successes. "We are now seeing things through to the end," Justvan asserted.
With the numerical advantage, Klose’s team dominated against the compact Ulm defense, which, nevertheless, had a golden opportunity to take the lead through Oliver Batista Meier. But he failed to convert the best chance for the visitors when he was denied by "Club" goalkeeper Jan Reichert (47′).
Guest goalkeeper Christian Ortag became the focus in the last half hour, saving shots from Jens Castrop (65′), Berkay Yilmaz (66′), and Tim Drexler (84′).
Klose, eager to secure the victory, bolstered his attack by bringing on winter signing Antiste. And the substitute duly delivered, scoring after Jander’s dream goal.
