Werder Bremen 1
Elia (24)
Aberdeen 0
Kick off 6:00pm BST
The Dons lined up 4-3-3 with Brown in goal, a back four of Osbourne, Anderson, Considine and Magennis. Jack Hughes and Rae were in midfield with McGinn through the middle and Hayes and Jack either side. The crowd was upwards of 8,000 as the game kicked off in warm sunshine. After a very slow start Hayes picked the ball up on the half way line and elected to shoot. The keeper was miles off his line and struggling to get back but to his relief the shot just went wide. Minutes later the keeper was under pressure again when the ball was passed back to him and McGinn was on top of him within seconds. Mielitz showed good foot work to clear.
A Werder corner was well cleared at the front post by Anderson, but the pace of the match was still slow with both teams feeling the heat. The match then burst into life in the 10th minute with a decent chance for the home side. A clever ball was played inside Magennis to find Gebre Selassie. However the shot was comfortably held by Brown and a minute later McGinn set up Hayes, but his shot from distance went inches wide. The home side then went up the park and created a better chance. Petersen, who is on loan from Bayern Munich, was played in behind Osbourne. He placed his shot across Brown, but it just went past his far post.
In the 15th minute Arnautovic broke free on the right side of the box rather too easily. He looked to be in a great position to score, but decided to try and square the ball inside. The Dons defence were grateful as he passed to Anderson who was able to clear. Considine then did well to cover back but at the expense of a corner. Junuzovic then shot from the edge of the area, but it was easily held by Brown . The home side were beginning to control the match and in the 23rd minute Arnautovic put in a good cross from the left and a Petersen header crashed off the bar.
Seconds later though Bremen went ahead when Hughes was short with a pass back. Elia had the simplest of tasks of rounding the stranded Brown and placing the ball into the net. On the half hour mark a nasty challenge took out both Pawlett and Jack with the latter looking to be in trouble. Thankfully both were able to carry on after treatment and it was a welcome water break for the rest of the players. The teams then exchanged free kicks with McGinn curling one just wide and at the other end Fritz did the same. Considine then made an excellent last ditch tackle to deny Selassie. The Dons were trying to play balls down the channels for Hayes McGinn and Pawlett to chase and in the 42nd minute they won their first corner. Hayes sent over a fine delivery and the keeper, who had not looked the best, punched clear with Magennis in close attention.
Werder Bremen: Mielitz, Arnautovic, Fritz, Elia, Schmitz, Hunt, Prodl, Junuzovic, Sokratis, Gebre Selassie, Petersen
Aberdeen : Brown, Osbourne, Anderson, Considine, Magennis, Jack, Hughes, Rae, Hayes, McGinn, Pawlett.
Subs: Langfield, Vernon, Milsom, Megginson, Low, Brown, Naysmith, Clark, Paton, Fallon, Shaughnessy, Frazer.
