Pohlers hat-trick lights up Potsdam

By Mark Bennett

Conny Pohlers hit a hat-trick as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam were comfortable 4-0 winners against SK Trondheims-Ørn in the first leg of their UEFA Women's Cup semi-final on Saturday.

Impressive display
Turbine dominated for much of the match but they had to wait until early in the second-half before taking the lead when Pohlers struck twice in quick succession. Seventeen minutes from the end, Petra Wimbersky added the third, before Pohlers completed an impressive display with her third five minutes from time.

Christiane left out
Turbine coach Bernd Schröder went into the match with eleven German internationals and left Brazilian international Christiane, who hit a hat-trick in Potsdam’s 4-0 win against VfL Wolfsburg, on the substitutes' bench. Trondheim had Heidi Pedersen and Monica Enlid back from minor injuries and both were included in the starting line-up.

Wimbersky despair
The hosts started brightly and could have taken the lead early on. Wimbersky’s clever chip on six minutes beat goalkeeper Ingrid Hjelmseth but hit the post. Two minutes later Potsdam displayed their passing skills but at the end of the move captain Ariane Hingst fired over. Potsdam continued to dominate the early action in the Karl-Liebknecht Stadion and both Wimbersky and Anja Mittag missed further chances to put the hosts in front in the opening 20 minutes.

Odebrecht hits bar
But the tempo dropped soon after as both teams began to lose possession lightly. Potsdam’s only other chance of the first half came in additional time when the visitors failed to clear and Viola Odebrecht hit the bar. Trondheim failed to register a single shot on goal during the first 45 minutes.

Pohlers double
The Bundesliga side regained the initiative after the break and Pohlers got the breakthrough eight minutes into the second half, meeting Navina Omilade’s cross to beat Hjelmseth. Three minutes later the German international escaped her marker yet again to double the lead after a great pass from Jennifer Zietz.

Pohlers treble
Despite having a comfortable lead, Potsdam continued to push forward and the home side were rewarded with their third goal. Wimbersky followed up after seeing her initial shot saved and scored with her second attempt. However, Pohlers wasn’t finished and headed in her third goal of the match five minutes from time.

Schröder upbeat
Afterwards Pohlers said: "They started to tire after the break and we cashed in on that. We are not through to the final yet but it was certainly a huge step in the right direction." Coach Schröder added: “My players showed a great display after the break and it is a dream result for us. If we don’t reach the final now we will have to blame ourselves.”