What a match between Hansa Rostock and Alemannia Aachen. After playing with a man advantage for 80 minutes, Hansa conceded the equalizer in the 100th minute and missed out on moving up to fourth place.

Hansa Rostock was the team of the moment in the 3rd Division. But the 2-2 (1-1) draw against Alemannia Aachen will feel like a crushing defeat. They played with a man advantage for 80 minutes, took the lead in stoppage time, only to concede the equalizer against ten men.

The match in Rostock started off as one to forget for Aachen. After just ten minutes, Danilo Wiebe was sent off with a red card. The ball struck his elbow at the edge of the penalty area. Referee Daniel Bartnitzki ruled the handball as denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Aachen were now down a man for 80 minutes. Despite that, they had a great chance to take the lead. But Pierre Nadjombe was denied at the last moment by Rostock’s Viktor Bergh (17th minute). Aachen remained brave in the ensuing play, showing no signs of being a man down. After 34 minutes, the visitors even took the lead through Mehdi Loune.

Right back Florian Carstens played a careless pass toward Benjamin Uphoff. Loune got to the ball and scored from eight meters out. Five minutes later, Christian Kinsombi had a chance to make it 1-1 with a header—but he missed the opportunity.

Hansa still managed to equalize before halftime, though, thanks to a penalty kick converted by Kenan Fatkić. It was a bitter blow for Alemannia: Da Silva Kiala had been struck on the head by the ball outside the penalty area. What a wrong call against Aachen.

After the break, Hansa took control of the game, while Aachen relied solely on sporadic counterattacks. Benno Dietze and Marco Schuster, with a deflected shot, had the best chances for the hosts, who were applying increasing pressure.

In the 75th minute, the crowd was on the verge of celebrating a goal. But Emil Holten missed a sure 2-1 lead from 11 meters out after a nice assist from Ryan Naderi.

Aachen was now under constant pressure, and three minutes later, Emil Holten missed with a header from just a few meters out. Alemannia would have more than deserved the win based on their fighting performance. But this ill-fated evening still had a twist. In the 95th minute—with eight minutes of stoppage time—Holten finally scored to make it 2-1 for Hansa after the 14th corner.

Aachen didn’t give up, though, throwing everything forward. And on a day when everything went against Aachen, there was a happy ending after all. In the 100th minute, it was Faton Ademi who actually scored the 2-2 equalizer. An important point for Aachen in the relegation battle, while Rostock missed out on moving up to fourth place, where RWE now remains.