MSV Duisburg suffered its first defeat in the 3rd division. The league leaders lost 1-3 (1-1) to TSV 1860 Munich. Their lead over second place is melting away. 15,000 spectators in the sold-out stadium on Grünwalder Straße, including 1,500 visiting fans, watched an intense traditional derby between TSV 1860 Munich and MSV Duisburg on Sunday afternoon.
Meiderich went home without any points for the first time this season, losing 1:3 (1:1). It was the first defeat for the promoted team after 23 unbeaten league games.
Compared to the 2-2 draw against Hansa Rostock, coach Dietmar Hirsch changed his starting lineup in only one position. Jan-Simon Symalla started on the left side for Conor Noß. In contrast to the Niederrhein Cup win at KFC Uerdingen, captain Alexander Hahn and defensive midfielder Rasim Bulic also returned to the team.
After the change of coach to Markus Kauczinski, the Lions were keen to put their crisis start to the third division behind them and were the more active team from the outset. The hosts pressed early and picked up the pace down the wings. However, MSV were solid at the back from the start and had their first chance on goal with a header from Symalla following a cross from Can Coskun (7′). Thomas Dähne then defused a powerful long-range shot from Patrick Sussek (22′).
Deniz missed the best chance for Munich following a thwarted counterattack with a free kick from just behind the box (40′). Just 60 seconds later, they took the lead. Max Braune punched the resulting corner kick to the feet of Deniz, who didn’t hesitate and immediately took a shot. Sigurd Haugen got his foot in the way and scored from seven meters to make it 1-0 (41′).
But Duisburg struck back immediately – in the style of a top team. After a few quiet minutes, it was blow after blow. Symalla sprinted down the right and laid the ball perfectly for Joshua Bitter, who was completely unmarked on the right and scored the quick equalizer (43′). The teams went into the break with a deserved 1-1 score.
Hirsch brought on the more offensive Steffen Meuer for Jesse Tugbenyo in the second half after the goal net in front of the home curve had been repaired. The game remained balanced after the break, but also uneventful. The home side took control again after a quarter of an hour. A pass to Kevin Volland was blocked (60′).
Substitute Noß not only took over the set pieces, but also quickly provided some real momentum. Bitter had two chances to score his second goal, but Dähne came out on top against the right-back on both occasions (65′). MSV fought for more and more possession. The Lions didn’t have much to offer until the 78th minute. Haugen put the White-Blues back in front once again. Substitute Patrick Hobsch sent him deep, and Haugen beat two opponents. Tobias Fleckstein’s attempted clearance with a sliding tackle failed, and the striker only had to tap the ball in from a tight angle. The Zebras seemed shocked for only a moment, but still had a huge chance to make it 2-2 (85′) with a header from substitute debutant Andy Visser. The Sixties took advantage of this, with captain Thore Jacobsen running alone towards the MSV goal and coolly converting to make it 3-1. Cottbus’ late victory in Ulm means that the lead over second place is now only one point. MSV will continue next Sunday evening with a home derby against Rot-Weiss Essen.
