After Alemannia Aachen, another traditional club is returning to the 3rd division. The fourth promoted team will be determined in a relegation play-off.

After Alemannia Aachen and VfB Stuttgart II, the third club to be promoted to the 3rd division has now been confirmed. Energie Cottbus completed their return on Sunday with a 2-0 (2-0) victory over Hertha BSC U23.

Former RWE player Maximilian Pronichev was also at the center of attention for the Cottbus side. A ball bounced off his arm after nine minutes and Energie were lucky not to be awarded a penalty.

Shortly afterwards, coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz’s team took the lead. Joshua Putze scored for FCE from a corner. After 24 minutes, the game was already decided.

And it was a goal in which two former Essen players were involved. Jonas Hildebrandt initiated the attack and it was Pronichev who finished with the inside of his boot.

After the break, Energie concentrated on managing the result and remaining compact defensively. They succeeded – and the win was necessary. Second-placed Greifswalder FC won their home game against Meuselwitz 4:1 – a defeat would have seen Cottbus drop to second place.

Now it’s time to celebrate in Lusatia. Almost 8,000 Energie Cottbus supporters made the journey to Berlin and stormed the pitch after the three-pointer. In the coming season, they will now face Dynamo Dresden, Rot-Weiss Essen and VfL Osnabrück again.

The fourth promoted team will be determined in the unpopular relegation play-off. The representatives of the Regionalliga Nord (Hannover 96 II) and Bayern (Würzburger Kickers) will contest the promotion matches. The South-West and West Seasons always have a fixed promoted team, as together they account for over 50 percent of the registered men’s teams in Germany due to their high population density.

The third directly promoted team changes every year among the three remaining regional leagues. This year, Cottbus in the Regionalliga Nord can look forward to direct promotion