Football: Decision at the End: Freiburg Beats Derby County

SC Freiburg secured a 3-1 victory over English second-division side Derby County in their first friendly match during their training camp in Austria.

Freiburg opened the scoring in the eighth minute with a skillful individual effort from Cyriaque Irié. However, Derby County responded five minutes later, with Carlton Morris netting the equalizer. The match, played over two 60-minute halves, saw Freiburg struggle against the physicality of the English team, who are further along in their preseason preparations.

Opportunities were scarce for both sides in the first hour, with each team having one shot cleared off the line. Freiburg's coach, Julian Schuster, made wholesale changes at halftime, but the quality of the game declined. The Bundesliga team ultimately found their breakthrough in the closing stages.

Vincenzo Grifo converted a penalty in the 109th minute, and young player Leon Sawas sealed the deserved victory with a long-range shot in the 120th minute. Freiburg will play another friendly against SpVgg Greuther Fürth before starting their season on August 23 with a DFB-Pokal match against Fortuna Düsseldorf, followed by a Bundesliga opener against Werder Bremen.