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Bobby Wood snaps long drought with brace in Erzgebirge victory

Bobby Wood FC Erzgebirge Aue 22

 

By FRANCO PANIZO

Two years is a long time to go without scoring a goal, but Bobby Wood made sure to end his lengthy drought in emphatic fashion.

Wood bagged a brace to help Erzgebirge Aue defeat Fortuna Dusseldorf, 3-2, on Friday. The two-goal performance came in his second appearance for Erzgebirge – who he joined on loan at the end of the winter transfer window – and snapped a personal scoring slump that dated back to May 19, 2013.

The 22-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team forward first struck in the 15th minute, opening the scoring and his account with Erzgebirge with a sliding finish. Wood then tallied his second of the game just after half-hour mark, again positioning himself to finish off a teammate’s pass with a one-timed effort to make the score, 2-1.

The two goals are not only likely to inject Wood with some much-needed confidence after a frustrating few months at the club and international levels, but they also helped Veilchen move one step closer to avoiding relegation from the 2. Bundesliga.

Erzgebirge is currently in the safe zone in 15th place with 20 points, but the three teams that are trailing have yet to play this weekend.

You can watch both of Wood’s goals here:

https://dailymotion.com/video/x2h4ukk

https://dailymotion.com/video/x2h4w93

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What do you make of Wood’s two-goal performance? Do you see him going on a tear now? Think he helps Ezrgebirge avoid relegation?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ehmm. I just used google.de. Literally the first article that came up was muenchener abendzeitung with a lengthy article. Seems as reliable as anything else, but it’s not exactly The Wall Street Journal. But if you want to cast doubts your choice. But maybe next time you criticize, do a simple Google search yourself.

    Reply
  2. Well, according to one somewhat reliable source, Wood told a coach to “Leck mich am Arsch.” Not the best way to talk to your boss. Apparently he just wanted out. And he got what he wanted, sort of. Munich still holds his transfer rights, and the price is half a million euros. Good luck, kid.

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    • unquoted “reliable sources” tend to seem less reliable……. I can quote a “reliable source” all day but doesn’t mean it’s true, especially if i don’t mention how this source is reliable (training staff, veteran scout, player on the team, my mother’s opinion….)

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      • It’s pretty much exactly what it looks like if you change those words to an English spelling.

        “Lick me in [the] 4rse…” pretty much “kiss my 4ss.”

      • If they are going to dump you nothing like getting your money’s worth.

        There must be some fire in this kid. Maybe he can harness it to the USMNT’s advantage. Maybe this is the wake up call the kid needed.

      • Hogatroge, you missed my point. your initial comment was essentially hearsay. What was this “somewhat reliable source” you mentioned. that would help in qualifying the “Lick my…” Comment.

    • The confidence boost is what’s most important. In 5 or so caps, look how many chances Wood created, only to flub the finishes, some of which were pretty rudimentary. Finishing these simple balls on the regular will hopefully help him connect the dots on the national team level and show everyone what JK sees.

      Now, I’m no JK apologist, but the man was a world class striker himself, and I’ll take his word that Wood has promise. Plus, there’s plenty of evidence that Wood has the potential to shine in the near future if he gets his finishing down. Watch the Colombia and Ireland matches again.

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      • Yeah, were not exactly sitting on a pile of world class strikers…
        Gotta wish the best for each guy even if they do disappoint while playing.

  3. Well, if he can continue addressing the finishing aspect of his game at the club level (this is a good start), people will look pretty foolish for overlooking the promise he showed in his first few caps. Admittedly, though, he was invisible against Chile.

    Reply
    • Hogatroge,

      I doubt anyone remembers but Charlie Davies, in first few US caps, including Copa America 2007, did not score either. He then went back to Hammarby and put together a good season.

      BB paid attention, Ching got hurt , Casey was not convincing , then Jozy and Davies hit it off and the rest was history. Rather short but history nevertheless.

      Wood was did not have the goal scoring sharpness but he did get into good positions and looked lively for a bit. It now is obvious that he has been out of sorts and lacking confidence. Hopefully, he has a nice run of games like Davies did when he went back to Hammarby. Anyone who writes off kids like him after two or three games hasn’t seen much soccer.

      Reply
  4. Way to punk his old coach, who said that he would not have let B. Wood go to a competitor had he thought him to be of any worth at all.

    Reply
      • They’ll feel REALLY dumb if Ezrgebirge (I feel like the Swedish Chef every time I say their name) avoids relegation at 1860’s expense and Wood continues to contribute to that end. They should fire the manager AND sporting director for utter incompetence or outright tanking the season. Ezrgebirge is competing with you to avoid relegation and they are DYING for a goal scorer. Their top scorer has THREE goals. They’ve scored 21 goals in 21 matches. Wood is now their 2nd leading scorer IN TWO GAMES! And you GIVE THEM A GOAL SCORER! What a bunch of buffoons over there. Now they’ve leapfrogged 1860 and put them in the relegation zone!! What an INCREDIBLE optic this could wind up being! The manager buries a talented forward, never lets him see the light of day, has him transferred to a rival and he becomes the exact piece they need to bury 1860’s hopes of staying in B2! This is crazy. You could transfer the guy virtually anywhere in the world and you give him to a team that could wind up getting you relegated. How dumb are these guys? 1860 is dying for goals themselves, too, and they never gave Wood a sniff. Yes, Otioke has 13 goals, but their next leading scorer would be… you guessed it, Bobby Wood (after yesterday’s brace). This could wind up being a truly amazing story.

      • Oh my God! It gets even better! I just read that not only is the team management acting so crazy, but the whole season is being documented from within, “Being Liverpool” style!!! It’s like having a film crew on the Titanic!

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