Second division soccer team Hertha BSC were unable to turn the game around in Braunschweig. Engelhardt provides the jubilation at VfL Osnabrück.
Hertha BSC were unable to further underline their ambitions in the 2nd Bundesliga. With a 1:1 (0:1) draw at relegation candidates Eintracht Braunschweig, the Berliners failed to make any decisive progress towards the promotion places. In front of 22,636 spectators at the Eintracht Stadium, Fabio Kaufmann put the hosts ahead in the 14th minute and substitute Ibrahim Maza equalized in the 52nd minute. Braunschweig’s Hasan Kurucay was shown the red card after a rough foul on Palko Dardai (77′).
Hertha were particularly disappointing in the first half and were punished early on for their passive style of play. Kaufmann picked up a bad pass from Andreas Bouchalakis in his own penalty area and finished to take the lead. The visitors returned from the half-time break with a completely different body language. Substitute Haris Tabakovic missed the equalizer twice shortly after the restart. Maza, who was also substituted at half-time, did better in the 52nd minute.
When Braunschweig found themselves short-handed in the closing stages, Hertha pressed for the winning goal. But there were no good opportunities for the Berliners despite being outnumbered. Hertha are now five points behind third-placed Hamburger SV in the table, who host Elversberg on Sunday. Braunschweig are 15th in the table, two points ahead of 16th-placed Kaiserslautern.
VfL Osnabrück pull off a 1-0 surprise against Hannover 96
Bottom-placed VfL Osnabrück surprisingly defeated promotion candidates Hannover 96 and celebrated their first win since the seventh matchday. On Saturday, coach Uwe Koschinat’s side won 1:0 (0:0) at Bremer Brücke, which was once again sold out with 15,741 spectators. Erik Engelhardt (61st minute) scored the goal of the day for VfL. Despite the win, Osnabrück remain bottom of the Bundesliga 2 table with 15 points. It was the first defeat of the new year for the recently strong Hanoverians and a bitter setback in the promotion race
After a weak first half, Hannover initially managed to create some offensive chances. Havard Nielsen (48′) put his shot attempt over the goal, Marcel Halstenberg (51′) was unable to take advantage of two shooting opportunities, as was Louis Schaub (52′), who shot a ball from distance just over the goal. Then Osnabrück were allowed to celebrate: 96 keeper Ron-Robert Zieler was unable to defuse a corner kick, Robert Tesche put the ball into the middle again, where Engelhardt scored with a header from close range.
Debacle for Kaiserslautern in Funkel’s home debut
1. FC Kaiserslautern suffered a heavy defeat on the home debut of former coach Friedhelm Funkel. On matchday 23 of the 2nd Bundesliga, the Palatinate side deservedly lost the south-west derby against Karlsruher SC 0:4 (0:0). While the visitors celebrated their first win in Kaiserslautern since 1992, FCK slipped deeper and deeper into the relegation battle.
Kaiserslautern played the match in black shirts in memory of former FCK player Andreas Brehme, who died on Tuesday night. There was also a minute’s silence before the game. Both teams and the referee team wore mourning florals. In front of 49,327 spectators in the sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium, the match was decided within seven minutes. Marvin Wanitzek (51), Igor Matanovic (58) and Paul Nebel (82) scored for the visitors. Budu Zivzivadze (90.+1) made sure of the final score in stoppage time.
