Borussia Dortmund's new head coach Edin Terzic enjoyed a winning debut as they narrowly beat Werder Bremen 2-1 away on Tuesday to earn their first victory in four league games.
Terzic, a former Dortmund assistant coach, succeeded Lucien Favre who was sacked after their 5-1 demolition by VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
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Raphael Guerreiro's 12th-minute volley gave the visitors a perfect start but the euphoria quickly fizzled out and Werder's Kevin Moehwald levelled with a powerful shot in the 28th.
Werder keeper Jiri Pavlenka was kept busy throughout and also denied 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko, making his first start in the absence of injured striker Erling Halaand, from becoming the youngest scorer in league history.
Yet the keeper clumsily crashed into Manuel Akanji in the 78th minute to concede a penalty. He did well to save Marco Reus's spot kick but was beaten by the Dortmund captain on the rebound.
"What was important was that we not only won but we defended the victory until the end," Terzic said. "Everyone worked hard. The boys that then came on, everyone. We were a team."
The Ruhr valley club's first win since mid-November moves them up to fourth place on 22 points. Werder are 13th on 11.
Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, on 25, travel to Cologne on Wednesday, while champions Bayern Munich, a point behind in second place, host unbeaten VfL Wolfsburg.
"It is always important to come back with a win after such brutal defeats," Reus said. "We had to deliver. Hopefully we are back on track."
