FC Erzgebirge Aue can rely on their captain Martin Männel. The 37-year-old secured a point for his team in a 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart II in front of 6,821 spectators.
The goalkeeper not only saved a foul penalty from Noah Darvich after 30 minutes. He also deflected the subsequent header onto the crossbar. It was the 16th penalty saved in Männel's career. He played his 550th match for the Violets against Stuttgart.
In the freezing cold in the Erzgebirge, the Stuttgart youngsters put in a convincing performance in the first half, conceding little in defense and were always dangerous up front. Männel had to call on his skills against Mansour Ouro-Tagba after just three minutes.
A better second half from Aue
After the break, both teams dropped their wait-and-see approach. Aue's Julian Günther-Schmidt (48') missed the goal by inches, Ryan Malone (56') hit the post with a powerful header. Three minutes later, the defender also saved a shot from Ouro-Tagba with his head for his already beaten goalkeeper.
From the 75th minute onwards, the game became increasingly flat. VfB were closer to the opening goal than the hosts, who were also unlucky with two shots from Jannic Ehlers in stoppage time.
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