Regulars miss out as Potsdam fall

By Andreas Alf

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam's final match of the Bundesliga season ended in defeat as they went down 3-2 to FC Bayern München last night.

Seven rested
Coach Bernd Schröder rested Ariane Hingst, Britta Carlson, Petra Wimbersky, Anja Mittag, Conny Pohlers, Sonja Fuss and Jennifer Zietz ahead of Saturday's home second leg of their UEFA Women's Cup final against Djurgården/Alvsjö, and saw his side fall behind after nine minutes to Sonja Spieler's strike.

Rapid comeback
Potsdam hit back with goals from Annelie Brendel and Cristiane after 24 and 26 minutes respectively, and the Brazilian looked to have clinched the points with her second six minutes after the break. However, three goals in seven minutes from Bayern's Pavlina Scasna (65) and Nina Eigner (68 and 72) swung the match in their favour.

Reserves tested
Despite the defeat, Schröder remained upbeat. "I am not disappointed because this result shows that we cannot relax against Djurgården," he said. "Furthermore, my back-up players have proved that they can also compete at the top level in Germany." Potsdam won the first leg 2-0.