Braunschweig strikes back late: 3-2 win in Dresden Two completely different halves make for an entertaining second-division match. In the end, the visitors celebrate a well-deserved victory.
Thanks to a strong first half and a late goal, Eintracht Braunschweig has given itself some breathing room in the relegation battle of the 2. Bundesliga.
The Lower Saxony side defeated fellow relegation rivals Dynamo Dresden 3-2 (2-0). Former Dresden player Christian Conteh (7th) had put the visitors ahead early in front of 31,150 spectators and added a second goal to make it 2-0 after 21 minutes. Jakob Lemmer (54th) and Nils Fröling (56th) struck twice in quick succession to pull the visitors level. Braunschweig’s Patrick Nkoa (78th), whom coach Heiner Backhaus brought in from Aachen, scored to restore Eintracht’s lead, a goal that also sealed the victory.
The hosts, for whom Stefan Kutschke had to replace Vincent Vermeij at the last minute, initially struggled to find their rhythm. They weren’t creating much going forward. Instead, they made hair-raising mistakes in their own half. A whole chain of such errors led to the opening goal. On top of that, they repeatedly lost possession easily due to poor passing. There was a lack of a guiding presence in midfield.
Braunschweig capitalized on this, grew increasingly confident, dominated aerial duels, and was more aggressive in tackles. Johan Gomez (13th) squandered a great chance to make it 2-0 when the Dynamo defense failed to clear the ball from their own penalty area.
Conteh did better shortly afterward. This followed a sluggish sequence in the hosts’ build-up play. Had Dresden’s goalkeeper Tim Schreiber not made three strong saves toward the end of the first half, his team could have found themselves trailing by a much wider margin.
In the second half, Dynamo suddenly played with pressure and intelligence. This unsettled Braunschweig, who began making mistakes of their own. Before the 1-2, Ron-Thorben Hoffmann failed to hold onto a shot by Lemmer; the equalizer was preceded by errors in positioning.
As Dynamo pressed for the winning goal, Nkoa poked the ball over the line of the Dresden goal from a scramble. Now Dynamo had to push forward again, opening up space for Eintracht counterattacks. Dynamo’s Jonas Oehmichen missed a great chance to equalize in stoppage time.
Hertha BSC squanders lead – Another Fürth comeback
Promotion contender Hertha BSC suffered another setback in the 2. Bundesliga following a stormy back-and-forth against relegation-threatened SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Five days after their disappointing home loss to 1. FC Magdeburg (0-2), the team led by former Fürth promotion coach Stefan Leitl could not manage more than a 3-3 draw (2-1)—a result that was ultimately somewhat flattering—despite holding a 2-0 and 3-2 lead in Franconia.
At the start of Matchday 16, Hertha nevertheless moved up to sixth place in the standings. Just under a week after their hard-fought 2-2 draw in the Franconian derby against 1. FC Nürnberg, Fürth now sit in 15th place.
Following assists from Michaël Cuisance, former Fürth player Fabian Reese (33rd minute) and Luca Schuler (36th) scored back-to-back goals for Berlin. Out of nowhere, Branimir Hrgota (42nd) made the match exciting again with a solo effort in front of 12,276 spectators.
In a wild match, Felix Klaus (58th minute) volleyed home Hrgota’s cross for the equalizer, his seventh goal of the season. Schuler’s (62nd minute) swiveling shot restored Berlin’s lead, but Fürth—significantly more agile in the second half—countered with a late goal from substitute Dennis Srbeny (81st minute).
Leitl and Heiko Vogel greeted each other warmly before kickoff; after all, they’ve known each other for a long time. When Leitl was still playing in midfield for FC Ingolstadt (2007–2013), Vogel was the assistant to then-coach Thorsten Fink.
On the field, it was initially only the enthusiastic Hertha players who set the pace against the league’s worst defense. The first supposed lead by Reese (26th minute) was later ruled out by the video referee for offside. A few minutes later, however, Leitl’s team was rewarded.
The Franconians, for whom Vogel relied on his combative derby starting lineup, did not let up, however. Just three minutes after coming on as a substitute, striker Srbeny punished the visitors, who had done too little to secure the win after the break.
