Darmstadt before the rise – Sandhausen draws hope
SV Sandhausen makes the relegation battle of the 2nd division even more exciting by beating Regensburg. Düsseldorf and Karlsruhe exchange blows, leaders Darmstadt continue to win – and referee Aytekin hits it hard.
Darmstadt 98 has taken the next big step towards promotion to the Bundesliga. The second division leaders won 3-0 (2-0) at Holstein Kiel on Sunday and can no longer be pushed out of the top three places in the remaining four games. Ideally, direct promotion will already be certain next Saturday after the home game against FC St. Pauli.
In front of 13,296 spectators in the Holstein Stadium, Jannik Müller (6th minute) and Phillip Tietz (52nd) scored the goals for the Hessians. In addition, Simon Lorenz from Kiel scored in his own goal (22nd).
Darmstadt, which used three former players from Kiel in Mathias Honsak, Fabian Schnellhardt and Aaron Seydel, immediately put pressure on the Holstein defense and was quickly rewarded. Following a corner kick, Müller headed the ball over the line to make it 1-0. The Hessians stayed on the trigger and forced Lorenz’s own goal. The defender then had one of the hosts’ best chances with an overhead kick just before the break (44′).
The Darmstadt team also got off to an ideal start in the second half. With a header duel, Tietz prepared his tenth goal of the season and thus the preliminary decision to a well-deserved away win himself. 98 keeper Marcel Schuhen prevented the Kiel connection by Fin Bartels (78th) with a brilliant save.
Fortuna Dusseldorf – Karlsruher SC 3: 2 (1: 1)
With the tenth home win of the season, Fortuna Düsseldorf remains in wait for third place in the table. Coach Daniel Thioune’s team won 3-2 (1-1) against Karlsruher SC on Sunday. Sixth in the table, Fortuna with the teams SC Paderborn and FC St. Pauli (all 50) who have the same number of points is six points behind Hamburger SV (56), who are relegated.
In front of 25,408 spectators, Kristoffer Peterson (33rd), Matthias Zimmermannn (72nd) and Jordy de Wijs (90th + 3) scored the goals for Düsseldorf. Mikkel Kaufmann (28th) and Philip Heise (66th) scored for KSC.
The KSC benefited from a serious mistake by Fortuna keeper Florian Kastenmeier, who let Kaufmann’s shot slip through the penalty area line. It wasn’t long before the hosts equalised, Peterson outwitting Karlsruhe’s young goalkeeper Max Weiß from a tight angle.
The hosts had further good chances in the first half through Daniel Ginczek, Dawid Kownacki and Emmanuel Iyoha. But Karlsruhe also remained dangerous and made it 2-1 through Heise’s follow-up shot after a free kick, before Zimmermann, who was born in Karlsruhe, managed to equalize. Defender de Wijs then scored his first goal of the season in injury time to make it 3-2.
SV Sandhausen – SSV Jahn Regensburg 2: 1 (1: 0)
SV Sandhausen, threatened with relegation, continues its upward trend under interim coach Gerhard Kleppinger. The bottom of the table won 2-1 (1-0) against SSV Jahn Regensburg and, thanks to the third game without defeat, drew level on points with the Oberpfälzer team under Kleppinger’s management. The gap to the saving 15th place is three points for both teams with four games left, the relegation rank is one point away.
Merveille Papela (16th minute), whose shot was deflected and Dario Dumic (52nd) headed in for the home side in front of 5243 spectators. Central defender Dumic had already scored twice in Kleppinger’s debut in a 2-1 win over 1. FC Magdeburg.
There were not enough visitors for long stretches, but the SVS did not manage to keep a clean sheet in the league for the 15th time in a row. Prince Osei Owusu, who headed the crossbar just before the break, scored the first goal (64′). In the final phase, Regensburg weakened themselves. Leon Guwara saw the red card (85th).
Referee Deniz Aytekin almost had to give up the game management. The 44-year-old could no longer avoid a duel between Sandhausen’s Erik Zenga and Benedikt Gimber vom Jahn. After a break in treatment, Aytekin was able to continue.
