BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Berlin-born teenager Patrice \u010covi\u0107 scored his first Bundesliga goal on Sunday as Werder Bremen beat 10-man Union Berlin 4-1 away to escape the relegation zone.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old \u010covi\u0107, who progressed through Hertha Berlin\u2019s youth setup, entered in stoppage time with the game already won, and he scored with an easy finish two minutes later.<\/p>\n
The goal will likely have been cheered by Hertha fans. \u010covi\u0107\u2019s father, Ante \u010covi\u0107, coached him through youth teams and he also coached the senior team during a tumultuous period in 2019 before he was replaced by J\u00fcrgen Klinsmann. Hertha is now in the second division.<\/p>\n
Bremen won its second straight match for the first time this season after new coach Daniel Thioune<\/a> started with three defeats. <\/p>\n \u201cWe as a team had to endure a lot. The fans had to endure a lot too,\u201d Thioune said.<\/p>\n The win lifted his team three places to 13th, just three points behind Union, which has just one win in 2026 and is among a host of clubs in danger of relegation.<\/p>\n It started well for Union with Derrick K\u00f6hn scoring an early penalty against his ex-club.<\/p>\n But the game turned a minute later when Union\u2019s Andras Sch\u00e4fer was shown a red card for a foul on Jens Stage\u2019s foot. There was no VAR intervention though a yellow card seemed more appropriate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s annoying when you work hard week-in, week-out, and then you\u2019re set back by such a decision,\u201d said Union captain Rani Khedira, who could soon be playing for Tunisia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bremen had two good chances before Olivier Deman equalized with a brilliant strike inside the top left corner in the 31st, four minutes before Stage headed Bremen in front.<\/p>\n Thioune made two changes at the break, taking off players who had been booked, and his team struck the post early in the second half and kept pushing.<\/p>\n Marco Gr\u00fcll duly made it 3-1 to Bremen in the 66th and \u010covi\u0107 provided the final flourish.<\/p>\n Eintracht Frankfurt drew at St. Pauli 0-0 in the early game, when fortune smiled on the visitors as St. Pauli twice struck the post in the first half.<\/p>\n The point was not enough to keep St. Pauli out of the relegation zone as Bremen\u2019s win meant it jumped above Cologne, Mainz and St. Pauli.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n