Plenty of action in the 3rd division. In the midweek fixtures, Viktoria Cologne and FC Ingolstadt scored eight goals between them, closing the gap at the top of the table.

It was a busy midweek in the 3rd division, and Tuesday (October 22) already had a lot to offer: an eastern derby, eight goals in one game, and a stumbling league leader. Borussia Dortmund’s second team was also in action, but Waldhof Mannheim came out on top thanks to a goal from a former Essen player.

2,582 spectators came to the Sportpark Höhenberg to watch the match between Viktoria Cologne and FC Ingolstadt. And they did not regret coming, as the game ended in a draw with eight goals. David Kopacz gave FCI an early lead, but Cologne turned the game around before the break with goals from Bryan Henning and Said El Mala, going into the break with a 2-1 lead.

After the break, things got really wild, with Sebastian Grönning quickly equalizing for the Schanzer (49′). The visitors also responded to Cologne’s goals from Lex Tyger Lobinger (51′) and Serhat Semih Güler (71′). Grönning and Benjamin Kanuric (87′) equalized again, and the 4-4 score was the final result.

There was much more action in the stands in the East German derby between Erzgebirge Aue and Energie Cottbus. However, after the 3-1 win for the visitors, only the away fans among the 8,500 spectators at the Erzgebirgstadion were likely to have enjoyed themselves. Aue managed to equalize before the break through Erik Majetschak after Timmy Thiele had given Cottbus the lead, but Tolcay Cigerci (81′) and Thiele (90’+4) sealed the win for Cottbus, who jumped to second place overnight.

1. FC Saarbrücken remains level on points with Energie in the top group. The Saarlanders defeated Hansa Rostock 2-0. League leaders SV Sandhausen suffered a slight setback, but with the 1-1 draw against VfB Stuttgart II, Sandhausen has now gone eight games without defeat.

The remaining five games are scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday (October 23, 7 p.m., RS live ticker), including Rot-Weiss Essen hosting SC Verl. Alemannia Aachen will face SpVgg Unterhaching, while 1860 Munich will take on VfL Osnabrück. Arminia Bielefeld (at Hannover 96 II) and Dynamo Dresden (at Wehen Wiesbaden) have away games on the schedule.