When pre-season ends with six wins from seven matches, it is tempting to decide that everything is going rather well. As a long-time Bayer 04 supporter, I know exactly how dangerous thoughts like that can be. Football has a nasty habit of punishing excessive optimism at the first possible opportunity. Still, the 2–1 win at Newcastle United was a dress rehearsal I can live with far more comfortably than the rather sluggish 2–1 defeat at Nottingham a few days earlier. Not simply because of the result, but because Bayer looked composed for long spells, controlled significant phases of the match and had two goalscorers in Ibrahim Maza and Victor Boniface whose contributions were interesting for very different reasons. It took less than a minute for Bayer to make an impression. Christian Kofane and Maza combined around the edge of the box before Maza took aim from roughly 20 metres and absolutely smashed the ball under the crossbar. That is one way to start your final friendly. Newcastle barely had time to settle before finding themselves behind. For me, the goal was more than just a lovely strike in a pre-season game. Maza keeps showing glimpses of the technical quality and imagination that could become very useful for this team. There is no need to turn a young player into the next superstar after a handful of summer appearances – football tends to do that quickly enough on its own – but moments like this certainly make me curious to see more.
Newcastle gradually worked their way into the game, although the most unusual moment of the first half initially had nothing to do with football. During the first drinks break, the home side changed their shirts because their black-and-white kit was apparently too similar visually to Bayer’s blue-and-beige away strip. You do not see an entire team change outfits halfway through a half very often, even in pre-season. The new look seemed to suit Newcastle, though, because they became increasingly influential and equalised shortly before the break. Following a corner, Malick Thiaw rose highest at the far post and headed home for 1–1. That was frustrating because Bayer had made a good impression overall, but it was also another small reminder that set pieces are not merely decorative interruptions to a football match. In tight games, they can decide everything. Better to receive the reminder now than in a cup tie. After the break, I liked Bayer again. The Werkself had more possession, moved the ball well and at times pinned Newcastle around their own penalty area. The obvious qualification is that clear-cut chances were still too rare. That is the issue I had already noticed in Nottingham: parts of the football look tidy, but tidy is not the same as dangerous. Afonso Moreira was particularly lively down the left, repeatedly creating trouble through his direct running and individual actions. He brings pace, courage and a willingness to attack defenders rather than simply offer another safe passing option. That kind of player can be extremely useful when a match becomes static.
And then Victor Boniface arrived. His physical condition has been one of the major storylines of Bayer’s preparation, along with the question of whether he can rediscover the level that once made him such an important player for us. Against Newcastle, he needed less than two minutes. Starting from the left, he drove into the penalty area, beat his man with a feint and curled the ball into the far corner. 2–1. A very good goal, and probably an even more important one for Boniface himself. One strike in a friendly does not answer every question after a difficult spell, of course. But sometimes a forward needs exactly that kind of moment, when everything suddenly looks instinctive again. No hesitation, no overthinking, just a confident move and a finish. I very much hope that this goal gives him more than simply a nice line in the statistics of a summer friendly. Bayer’s options up front could look very different if Boniface begins to rediscover his confidence, and competition in attack is hardly something I am going to complain about.
Newcastle did have a good opportunity to equalise near the end, so this was certainly not a flawless performance. But Bayer deserved the win, completed pre-season with six victories and only one defeat, and produced several encouraging signs immediately before competitive football begins. Maza scored a superb goal, Moreira again caught the eye, Boniface delivered a moment that could be significant for him personally, and the team is gradually beginning to show more clearly what Carles Martínez wants it to become. Not everything is working yet. Bayer still need to turn possession into genuine chances more consistently, and defensively there are moments that develop a little too easily for my liking. But at some point pre-season has to end. Next weekend Wehen Wiesbaden await in the DFB-Pokal, and from then on nobody gets to say afterwards that it was only a friendly. That is why I like this 2–1 win in Newcastle. Not because it answered every question, but because Bayer showed immediately before the real start that there is quality, there are ideas and there are options. Now those ingredients have to produce results.
And if Boniface has decided that this is the perfect moment to start enjoying scoring goals again, I really have no objection to the timing.
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