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Turbine Potsdam 4, Hamburg 0 (Anonma 9’, Nagasota 20’, Nagasota 58’, Anonma 62’ Attendance: 2,790)

Sunday was not kind to Hamburger SV. The club’s men’s team got dismantled 5-0 by Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga while the women’s side, well, didn’t fare much better.

Turbine Potsdam put forth a thoroughly professional performance as the reigning German champions breezed past their Hamburg. 2,790 people came out to watch the team’s maiden match of the season – an increase of over 1,000 spectators from last season’s home opener.

Potsdam recorded four goals on the day, and likely could have had more. For one, a goal-bound free kick from new arrival Patricia Haneback crashed off the crossbar in the second half. After a pitiful first 75 minutes, Hamburg goalkeeper Bianca Weech prevented the affair from becoming a full-fledged rout as she parried away shot after shot by Genoveva Anonma and 17-year-old Macedonian striker Natasa Andonova in the closing minutes.

Anonma had already bagged her goals – two, in fact- in what was quite the audacious debut. The Equatoguinean forward showed the same kind of goal poaching instincts that made her a star at USV Jena. She connected well with Japanese international and World Cup winner Yuki Nagasota – who herself had a profitable game in front of goal – and looks to be a worthy replacement for Lira Bajramaj. Anonma’s second goal is worth seeking out, as she cracked a looping shot from reasonable distance to beat Weech.

Hamburg, meanwhile, appeared listless and lackadaisical. Recent Turbine Potsdam cast-off Jessica Wich had Hamburg’s best and only chance of the game as she broke free on goal in the first half, but was unable to get a shot off.

Turbine Potsdam were the domineers from beginning to end, despite showing a bit of new season rust in their passing. Central midfielder Viola Odrebecht was immensely effective with both attacking and defensive duties as she intercepted passes and provided quality service into the feet of Potsdam’s front three.

Hamburg’s descent is noteworthy as they were the surprise packages of the previous campaign, and relied on a solid foundation of youth talent. But the newfound level of success also brought newfound attention to the team’s precocious stars, and soon the plundering began. Not only has Hamburg lost its most prized assets with the departures of Kim Kulig, Ana Maria Crnogorcevic, and Antonio Goransson, the club has also been robbed of part of its identity.

It was a bright way to kick off Turbine Potsdam’s title defense, but challenges should get considerably tougher in the coming weeks. For both teams.

Frankfurt 3, Essen-Schonebeck 0 (Smisek 38’, Huth 50’, Bajramaj 53’ Attendance: 2,750)

There seemed to be a number of new North American-based FFC Frankfurt converts wide awake at silly o’clock to watch the team’s 3-0 defeat of Essen-Schonebeck.

Frankfurt’s star-studded squad has been a major talking point this season. With a roster that is rounded out by the likes of Lira Bajramaj, Kerstin Garefrekes, Ria Percivel, Sara Thunebro, Ali Krieger, Saskia Bartusiak, Saki Kumagai, Dzenifer Morazsan, Kim Kulig, okay, the list never ends, there’s been plenty to ogle at. The team narrowly missed out on the title last season and will finally return to the Champions League this year. With a squad like that, the lofty expectations are well-placed.

It may not have been a dream start, however, as the visitors reportedly made a respectable account of themselves from the outset. A delay due to thunder put an immediate stop to Essen-Schonebeck’s first half momentum as veteran Sandra Smisek put Frankfurt ahead thanks to a controversial goal shortly after play resumed.

Frankfurt then cruised to a 3-0 victory. Svenja Huth netted the team’s second while Bajramaj wasted little time getting on the score sheet for her new club.

Duisburg 2, Lokomotive Leipzig 1 (Meyer 14’, Popp 59’, Weichelt 85’ Attendance:1,870)

Duisburg has been no strangers to turmoil recently. The disharmonious departure of Inka Grings is the latest setback to a club in need of some stability due to financial and competitive concerns.

The club narrowly avoided further ignominy on the weekend as the team fought back to beat Lokomotive Leipzig 2-1 at home. The newly promoted side did not need to wait long for their first goal in the top-flight as Turbine Potsdam youth product Lyn Meyer scored in the 14th minute.

Duisburg managed to save face, however, as Alexandra Popp leveled matters in the 59th minute. Former Duisburg reserve team striker Stefanie Weichelt then helped the team secure all three points thanks to her 85th goal.

Questions will continue to linger at Duisburg all season as their top three status will likely be challenged. Lokomotive Leipzig, meanwhile, look to be on their way to proving they’re not guaranteed a spot in the drop zone.

Bad Neuenahr 2, Freiburg 2 (Leupolz 15’, Miraoui 47’, Doorsoun-Khajeh 71’, Okoyino da Mbabi 84’ Attendance: 915)

On paper, the result reads like the surprise score line of the round. But perhaps it shouldn’t be.

New faces Freiburg achieved promotion by topping the table of the 2. Bundesliga North with a good measure of distance between them and their closestrivals. The squad is lined with promising young internationals including French duo Lydia Miraoui and Mariana Makanza. Freiburg will hope to mirror the success of Bayer Leverkusen last season, as Leverkusen managed to do the improbable and avoid the drop zone in their debut season in the top-flight.

Bad Neuenahr, on the other hand, will have to contend with stronger teams around them in the top half of the table.

Freiburg burst out of the starting blocks early as they pinned down the perennial mid-table side with two unanswered goals. Bad Neuenahr has to fight to salvage two points. 19-year-old striker Sara Doorsoun-Khajeh scored her first goal with the club to cut the deficit to one. Celia Okoyino da Mbabi – joint top scorer for Germany at the World Cup – helped secure the draw with her 84th minute intervention.

USV Jena 0, Wolfsburg 3 (Kessler 12’, Pohlers 44’, Pohlers 65’ Attendance: 710)

Could Wolfsburg be the team to the break the duopoly at the summit of the Frauen-Bundesliga table? Perhaps not in this campaign, but depending on how results fare this year, the Wolves may not be far off. The team affirmed their ambitions this offseason by spending heavily on current and former German internationals. Wolfsburg’s defense was its Achilles heel last year and the addition of German international Josephine Henning indicates that the team is serious about redressing the issue.

The results certainly paid off against a weakened USV Jena side. Wolfsburg were the only away team to score a victory on Sunday as they disposed of Jena 3-0. The home side have their own questions to answer as the team was almost single-handedly saved from relegation lastseason thanks to the goal-scoring prowess of Genoveva Anonma. Former Duisburg boss Martina-Voss Tecklenburg made the surprise jump to Jena this summer. Sunday’s result shows she still has the unenviable task of finding a player worthy of filling Anonma’s scoring boots.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, got off to a flying start. In addition to acquiring Henning, the Wolves moved to augment their strike force by inking Nadine Kessler from Turbine Potsdam and Conny Pohlers from Frankfurt. Both players made their presence known on Sunday. Kessler put the Wolves ahead after 12 minutes. Pohlers put the game on ice with goals on each side of the half.

Bayern Munich 3, Bayer Leverkusen 0 (Ruelic 3’, Bachor 26’, Feiersinger 88’ Attendance: 810)

Bayern Munich was the last of the heavyweights to blank their competition in the opening round. Ivana Rudelic opened the scoring early. Bayer Leverkusen were unable to mount a comeback from then on. 28-year-old striker Isabell Bachor doubled Bayern’s lead after 26 minutes and Austrian striker Laura Feiersinger made it 3-0 with two minutes before the whistle.

Feiersinger was really the lone goal-scorer in a Herford side that struggled to snatch points in their first season in the top-flight last year. Herford’s counterparts Bayer Leverkusen avoided direct relegation, and will look to perform the same feat this season.

Team, GP/Points

1.) Turbine Potsdam 1/3 pts

2.) Bayern Munich 1/3 pts

3.) Frankfurt 1/3 pts

4.) Wolfsburg 1/3 pts

5.) Duisburg 1/3 pts

6.) Bad Neuenahr 1/1 pt

7.) Freiburg 1/1 pt

8.) Lokomotive Leipzig 1/0 pts

9.) Bayer Leverkusen 1/0 pts

10.) Essen-Schonebeck 1/o pts

11.) USV Jena 1/0 pts

12.) Hamburg 1/0 pts

Top scorers:

2 goals – Genoveva Anonma/Turbine Potsdam, Yuki Nagasoto/Turbine Potsdam, Conny Pohlers/Wolfsburg

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