Stuttgart stopped from taking second

BERLIN -- Fernando Meira's mistake on defense paved the way for Stuttgart's 2-0 loss to FC Nuremberg Sunday as the youth troop wasted a chance to climb to second in the Bundesliga table.

Meira tried to clear a cross in the 28th minute and instead put a lazy roller at the feet of Nuremberg's David Jarolin, who stepped forward and rifled in the easy goal.

Afterwards, Stuttgart's young overachiever's attacked relentlessly and wasted its chances until Junior's 87th minute goal sealed the upset for demotion-threatened Nuremberg.

Stuttgart, with seven players out of their youth system, could have passed Dortmund for second. Just as important, a win would have left the league's youngest team in a commanding position to claim a Champions League berth.

In the end, Stuttgart remained in third, trailing Borussia Dortmund by a point in a match everyone expected them to win.

"Maybe, the match showed the little bit we're still missing a a young team," said defender Andreas Henkel, one of Stuttgart's newcomers predicted to have a big future.

Stuttgart will now have to look over its shoulder at charging Hertha Berlin, which climbed to fourth by beating bottom Cottbus 3-1. The capital club is also four points behind Stuttgart.

Berlin won its third straight, but not before a listless performance left it trailing 1-0 at the half on a goal by Cottbus' Czech player, Robert Vagner.

"I got loud in the dressing rooms," said Berlin coach Huub Stevens. "This shows what being aggressive can do."

Berlin was transformed in the second half, first getting the equalizer when Pal Dardai's roller was deflected in the goal. That was the third attempt from his team in the same scene.

Then Brazilian forward Alex Alves came off the bench and sent a sharply angled shot from the right side that just slipped inside the left post in the 85th minute. Just a minute later, captain Michael Preetz tied the club record with his 83rd goal.

The biggest winner of the weekend, however, was Bayern Munich. Despite a troublesome 1-0 win against Rostock, the Bavarians moved 15 points clear because no one else was able to win.

Berlin was the only side among the six right below them in the table that picked up three points.

Stuttgart's youngsters may have learned a hard lesson against Nuremberg, a loss coach Felix Magath blamed on his players lacking concentration and misled by confidence over Nuremberg's poor play.

But they ran into a different Nuremberg team, which didn't resemble the one blasted 3-0 by Berlin last week.

Coach Klaus Augenthaler had been told by management that he would be dismissed if his team didn't win against Berlin. Despite the loss, the fans gave him such emotional standing ovations, his job was saved.

The improved performance of his players may have been the result of that fan outburst, but Augenthaler said the win against Stuttgart meant just one thing:

"We came away with an unexpected three points," he said. "It's been the most emotional week of my career."

In Saturday's matches, it was: Bayern Munich 1, Hansa Rostock 0; Schalke 1, 1860 Munich 1; Werder Bremen 1, Hannover 96 2; VfL Wolfsburg 2, VfL Bochum 0; FC Kaiserslautern 1, Bayer Leverkusen 0; Arminia Bielefeld 0, Borussia Dortmund 0; and Borussia Moenchengladbach 2, Hamburger SV 0.

 

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