MSV Duisburg 3-0 Arminia Bielefeld

I knew it was coming.

Being a Bielefeld supporter means your natural pessimism is fine tuned to the point you know that a disaster is coming long before anyone could notice. After last week's victory over Hertha Berlin, I knew that today's match against MSV Duisburg would be difficult. I knew it was certain that they would drop points on the road, but at halftime the rather dull match seemed to me that at least they would get a point over the newly-promoted Zebras. Statistically, total shots were close, and though Duisburg had a small advantage in possession, the match seemed to be finely poised.

Even through the first fifteen minutes of the second half, the status quo remained. Then everything fell apart, in a fashion even worse than the collapse against Frankfurt. For the last thirty minutes, Duisburg took eleven shots, scored three goals, and set up shop in front of Mattias Hain and took a tea break to pass the time. All Bielefeld could do in response was a poor shot in the 75th minute by Wichniarek, and a final parting shot by Masmandis in the 90th minute.

What made this worse was the fact that I thought I was going to be able to watch the match, but the channel instead decided to show Werder Bremen-Eintracht Frankfurt instead. So instead of watching the disaster unfold before my eyes live, I had to witness it in text form. It went something like this:

61st Minute: MSV Duisburg takes a free kick
61st Minute: MSV Duisburg takes a shot on goal.
64th Minute: MSV Duisburg scores a goal!
65th Minute: MSV Duisburg scores another goal!
66th Minute: MSV Duisburg takes a shot.
66th Minute: MSV Duisburg takes another shot.
70th Minute: MSV Duisburg scores yet another goal!
71st Minute: MSV Duisburg takes another shot!
72nd Minute: Arminia Bielefeld stops a passer-by to ask them where they were supposed to score.

Well, you get the point. It was awful and depressing, as I know it wasn't from a lack of trying, but a stretch like that was just hard to watch. With that said, Bielefeld's place in the league is the same as it was before the game, though with a little more company:

1. Bayern Munich 3 GP 9 Points +10 GD (Plays Sunday vs. Hamburger SV)
2 (tie). VfL Bochum 4 GP 7 Points +1 GD (Lost to Hannover 96 3-2)
2 (tie). Arminia Bielefeld 4 GP 7 Points +1 GD (Lost to MSV Duisburg 3-0)
2 (tie). Eintracht Frankfurt 4 GP 7 Points +1 GD (Lost to Werder Bremen 2-1)
2 (tie). Werder Bremen 4 GP 7 Points -2 GD (Defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1)

Considering the other results, a draw would have been nice, but I guess that was out of the question since I knew disaster was on its way. Here's to the feeling of dread going into hibernation for a while.

Next Match: Home vs. Hansa Rostock on 15 September.