1. FC Heidenheim have increased the pressure on the leading duo in the 2nd Bundesliga in the race for promotion.
Coach Frank Schmidt’s team won 1-0 (0-0) at relegation candidates Arminia Bielefeld and moved to within two points of second place after the draw in the top match between leaders Darmstadt 98 and Hamburger SV (1-1).
Stefan Schimmer (70th) scored the winner in front of 17,251 fans, which also secured the relegation place for Heidenheim – the FCH is four points ahead of fourth-placed SC Paderborn. For Bielefeld, on the other hand, it was the third defeat in a row, and the 16th-placed team remains deep in the relegation battle.
Heidenheim struggled in the first half, a week after their 5-0 win over Nuremberg, Tim Kleindienst and his team’s attack was slow to get going. Coach Daniel Scherning’s home team looked more alert and created the better chances.
Even after the break, Arminia were much closer to a goal, but Jomaine Consbruch (59th) missed the best opportunity. Almost out of nowhere, however, Heidenheim struck: Schimmer scored a lucky goal from the thick of the action.
Magdeburg win important victory in relegation battle
1. FC Magdeburg celebrated an important victory in the fight for relegation in the 2nd Bundesliga. Coach Christian Titz’s team won 2-1 (0-0) against Hannover 96 and put some distance between themselves and the relegation places with 24 points on their account.
Baris Atik (48th) and Luc Castaignos (61st) scored the goals for Magdeburg. The gap to 17th-placed Jahn Regensburg is now four points. Louis Schaub (69th) scored for Hannover, who were shorthanded after Fabian Kunze was shown a yellow card in the 55th minute. The Lower Saxons, who remain in mid-table, have now gone six games without a win.
Magdeburg had more of the game at the start and initially had the better chances, Hannover only became more active in the middle of the first half. After the break, Atik and Castaignos rewarded the visitors’ efforts, and Hanover also suffered a bitter blow when Kunze was sent off for repeated foul play. After a free-kick, the FCM keeper Dominik Reimann made a save, but Schaub was on the spot. After that, Hannover pressed for the equaliser.
Prestige victory in northern duel: St. Pauli also beats Rostock
FC St. Pauli scored a prestigious win against Hansa Rostock and remain unblemished under coach Fabian Hürzeler. The Kiezkickers beat their rivals from the Baltic Sea 1-0 (1-0) in the northern duel, which was classified as a high-security match by the police, and won their fifth match since Hürzeler took over.
The coach was jubilant on his 30th birthday when Jackson Irvine scored the opening goal in the 26th minute of the match. St. Pauli’s captain scored with a header after a precise cross from Oladapo Afolayan and enabled them to jump up to seventh place. Rostock slipped to 13th place.
The hosts had more of the game for long periods in the first half, but needed a bit of luck in the final phase. Hansa suddenly had three great opportunities to equalise, but failed to take advantage of them. John Verhoek hit the crossbar with a header (45.+2).
The second half was delayed by several minutes due to the massive use of pyrotechnics in the Rostock block. Hansa then struggled to equalise, Verhoek missed a promising chance (78th).
The match, which was also watched by around 3,000 visiting fans, had been classified as a so-called high-risk match and was accompanied by a large number of police officers. The aim of the police was to avoid a clash between the rival fan groups. This was achieved before kick-off.
During the match, the hosts announced that a steward had to be taken to hospital injured. He had been injured by “being thrown at by the visitors’ block”.