Bremen through on away goals

Werder Bremen secured a place in the final of the 2008/2009 UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, defeating Bundesliga rivals Hamburg 3-2 in a high-scoring match. Thursday’s match produced a 3-3 aggregate draw, with Bremen progressing on away goals.

The match looked to be going Hamburg’s way when Ivica Olic scored for the home side on 13 minutes. However, Hamburg’s lead didn’t stand for long as Diego scored the equalizer for Bremen on 29 minutes.

The goal-fest continued in the second half as Claudio Pizarro put Bremen in the lead in the 66th minute before Frank Baumann put the result beyond doubt for the visitors in the 83rd minute. There was a final desperate flurry from Hamburg, who produced a second goal through Olic 3 minutes from time.

“I think I have to congratulate both teams for a very good game,” Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said after the match. “But I think my team deserved to advance, we were able to come back, we had confidence and we pushed forward.”

Bremen’s three away goals put them through to the 2008/2009 UEFA Europa League final in Instanbul. The German club will face Ukraine’s Shakthar Donetsk in the deciding fixture of the tournament.