Not much is happening at Dynamo, either on offense or on defense

Déjà vu for Dynamo Dresden to kick off the new second-division season. Just like last year’s 2-3 loss at Greuther Fürth, they suffered another defeat in Franconia this time around. However, unlike last year, the Saxons didn’t stand a chance, losing 0-3 (0-2) to 1. FC Nürnberg. The biggest of Dynamo’s many problems that afternoon was Mohamed Ali Zoma, who scored all three goals (9th, 45+4, 75th) and was rarely kept in check by the Dresden defense.

“We’re not going to panic now. I’m completely convinced of the team,” said sporting director Sören Gonther on “Sky.” They hadn’t made as many mistakes as the score suggested. “But if you’re off by one or two percentage points—especially when defending—then that’s just how the game turns out. We have to rebuild everything from scratch. If we’re one percent short in one area or another, it gets tough,” said Gonther.

Dynamo with a Well-Coordinated Team

Coach Thomas Stamm fielded almost the exact same team that had played such a successful second half of the season last year. Only Nicolai Rapp, who came from Karlsruher SC, replaced Kofi Amoako—who had moved to Hamburger SV—in defensive midfield. In addition, Jakob Lemmer earned a spot in the starting lineup. Last season, he often had to share that spot with loan player Jason Ceka.

And Lemmer immediately set out to justify his selection. Just a few seconds in, the attacking player was blocked just before he could get a shot off. Later, he had two more chances, but the Nuremberg defense managed to thwart them.

But that was the extent of Dynamo’s attacking brilliance in the first half, which was dominated by Nuremberg’s star player, Zoma. Time and again, left winger Jonas Sterner broke free, exposing a problem Dynamo thought it had fixed in the second half of last season: the positioning in the back line was off, and double-teaming the ball-carrier happened too rarely. Since they conceded a rebound goal in stoppage time of the first half—with not a single opponent in sight to mark Zoma—Stamm’s expression visibly darkened. 

Hardly any chances for Dynamo

The coach reacted at halftime, leaving Sterner in the locker room and bringing in new signing Simon Straudi to mark Zoma. Although Straudi managed to contain Zoma better, he then gave away the decisive penalty with a foul on Rafael Lubach. Schreiber made the save, but the ball rebounded forward and landed right at the feet of the Club striker, who then found the back of the net.

But Dynamo didn’t just have a problem named Zoma in this game; they also struggled to create chances up front. Well-worked scoring chances were few and far between. When Dresden pinned the Franconians back in front of their penalty area—as they did starting in the 65th minute—their finishing was too sluggish; they lacked mental sharpness. As a result, Dynamo had to settle for a scoreless draw in their season opener.