2. Bundesliga
Bundesliga 2 top scorer Simon Terodde struck twice as Schalke continued their push for promotion with a 2-1 victory at relegation-threatened Dynamo Dresden, while Darmstadt bounced back with a win over Kiel as Werder Bremen and St. Pauli both dropped points.
Dresden 1-2 Schalke
Goals: 0-1 Terodde (pen. 45’), 0-2 Terodde 51’ (assist. Drexler), 1-2 Will 70’ (assist: C. Löwe)
Dresden started the weekend in 16th place, but, roared on by a home crowd in a near-capacity stadium, they went on the front foot against their high-flying visitors. Michael Akoto gave the first signal of their intent with a brilliant drop-kick in the fourth minute that whistled just over, before former Bayern Munich attacker Oliver Batista-Meier got behind the defence on the left, only to steer his cross too close to the goalkeeper. When fellow Bayern alumni Paul Will struck the post with a deflected effort from 25 yards it seemed only a matter of time before the home side would go ahead, but Schalke had other ideas. Will was involved at the other end of the pitch, bringing down Terodde with a clumsy challenge on the stroke of half-time, allowing the Schalke talisman to open the scoring from the penalty spot.
The match followed a similar pattern after the restart, with Dresden pinning their visitors back through their intensity and aggression. However, once again it was Schalke who scored as Terodde’s brilliant header from Dominick Drexler’s cross put daylight between the teams. The Royal Blues looked comfortable at this point, but they were forced to endure a nerve-jangling finale to the game when Will pulled a goal back with a header of his own from Chris Löwe’s free-kick. The home side threw everything forward in search of what would have been a priceless point in their survival bid, but Schalke held firm to maintain the pressure in a fiercely competitive push for promotion.
Match stats
Dresden: Broll - Akoto, Sollbauer, Knipping (c), C. Löwe - Batista-Meier, Will, Kade - Schröter, Drchal (Diawusie 66'), Mörschel (Mai 84')
Unused subs: Mitryushkin, Giorbelidze, Becker, Aidonis, Stark, Weihrauch, J. Löwe
Out: Borrello (not included), Ehlers (Muscular), Fein (thigh), Herrmann (knee), Königsdorffer (muscular), Vlachodimos (knee), Weihrauch (not included), Wiegers (knee)
Coach: Guerino Capretti
Schalke: Fraisl - Thiaw, Itakura (Matriciani 85'), Kaminski - Lode (Sane 85'), Latza (Churlinov 63'), Flick, Ouwejan (Calhanoglu 70') - Drexler - Terodde, Bülter (Palsson 70')
Unused subs: Fährmann, Kyerewaa, Idrizi, Mikhailov
Out: Aydin (hamstring), Langer (knee), Lee (metatarsal), Ranftl (not included), Vindheim (calf), Zalazar (foot)
Coach: Mike Büskens
Matchday 28 round-up
Ingolstadt 3-2 Aue
Goals: 1-0 Schmidt (25’), 2-0 Musliu (28’), 1-2 Jonjic (69’), 2-2 Gonther (89’), 3-2 Poulsen (90’)
Sent off: Owusu (7’)
Bottom clubs Ingolstadt and Aue put on a real ding-dong of a spectacle on Matchday 28 as each desperately sought a win to rekindle a glimmer of hope for survival. Momentum swung Ingolstadt’s way early on when the visitors were reduced to 10 men after just seven minutes, and they took full advantage through quick-fire strikes from Patrick Schmidt and Visar Musliu. However, Aue staged an impressive fightback in the second half, and after reducing the deficit via Antonio Jonjic, looked to have snatched an unlikely point when Sören Gonther equaliser with just a minute left on the clock. Ingolstadt had the final say though, with Andreas Poulsen finding the net just seconds later to bring the hosts to within a point of Aue, although both remain some way from outright safety.
Hamburg 1-2 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Srbeny (1'), 0-2 Srbeny (61'), 1-2 Chakvetadze (90')
Dennis Srbeny dented Hamburg's promotion hopes with both his team's goals as Paderborn picked up a 2-1 win at the Volksparkstadion. Srbeny opened the scoring inside the opening minute, showing quick thinking to lob Heuer Fernandes from distance after the Hamburg goalkeeper crept too far off his line as his team attacked from the kick-off. Hamburg had more of the ball, but Srbeny crowned another quick transition to double the guests' lead on the hour mark, completing his first brace in almost a year. HSV turned up the heat, but only managed to break through when it was already too late. Georgi Chakvetadze scored from distance with Paderborn goalkeeper Jannik Huth failing to keep the Georgian's speculative effort out.
Darmstadt 3-1 Kiel
Goals: 1-0 Bader (11'), 2-0 Seydel (45'), 2-1 Wriedt (49'), 3-1 Manu (50')
Darmstadt moved temporarily back to the top of the table thanks to a 3-1 win over Holstein Kiel, taking them through the 50-point barrier. The hosts did not take long to show why they are pushing for promotion to the Bundesliga, although they took a rather fortuitous lead when Matthias Bader's cross was missed by Aaron Seydel, but curled into the far corner anyway. Darmstadt justified any luck involved in that goal in a dominant first-half which concluded with a second goal, Seydel this time getting on the end of Bader's cross to turn the ball in. Kiel cut the deficit early in the second half when Kwasi Okyere Wriedt turned and scored, but their joy lasted only a minute before Braydon Manu put the seal on Darmstadt's win, turning the ball into an open goal from Fabian Holland's cross.
Hannover 1-1 Regensburg
Goals: 0-1 Albers (23'), 1-1 Stolze (39')
Red card: Boukhalfa (27')
Hannover were unable to break down the ten men of Regensburg as both sides had to settle for a draw. Andreas Albers gave the guests the lead midway through the first half, heading in powerfully only moments after Charalampos Makridis had hit the crossbar. Regensburg were good value for their lead, but then a red card for Carlo Boukhalfa for dangerous play saw the balance of the game tip in Hannover's favour. They levelled before half-time through Sebastian Stolze, with the second header of the game, but for all their pressure, they could not find a winner and had to settle for just a point.
Hansa Rostock 1-0 St. Pauli
Goals: 1-0 Neidhart (59')
Promoted Rostock moved closer to securing their safety for another year by dealing a blow to Pauli’s hopes of reaching the top flight. The home side tore into the visitors from the off on Saturday evening, and Simon Rhein had a third-minute goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up. Channelling the passion of the 24,770 fans inside their Ostseestadion, Rostock kept second-placed Pauli at bay while continuing to create chances themselves in their hunt for a fourth successive win. And their efforts were rewarded when Neidhart squeezed home his first goal of the season at the back post after an excellent low ball across from Calogero Rizzuto.
Werder Bremen 1-1 Sandhausen
Goals: 0-1 Testroet (64'), 1-1 Ducksch (73')
Following Darmstadt's victory over Holstein Kiel, a point would have been enough to take Werder to the summit on Sunday afternoon and they nearly took a 42nd-minute lead but Niclas Füllkrug's left-footed strike on the angle was repelled by the legs of Patrick Drewes in the Sandhausen goal. And with the game looking like it would head for a draw, it was the away side that took the lead with less than half an hour to play. Pascal Testroet pounced on some lapse Werder defending before racing through on goal and smuggling the ball beyond Jiri Pavlenka. Werder were quick to respond, and were level within 10 minutes thanks to Marvin Ducksch's excellent first time finish. The scores remained level, with Werder taking a one point lead at the top of the table.
Watch: Werder Bremen 1-1 Sandhausen - in 60 seconds!
Heidenheim 3-1 Nuremberg
Goals: 1-0 Kleindienst (3'), 2-0 Malone (36'), 3-0 Kleindienst (84'), 3-1 Schäffler (88')
Looking to keep their outside chances of promotion alive, the home side flew out the traps and raced into the lead after just three minutes. Tim Kleindienst was the man who found the back of the net with his eighth league strike of the campaign and first since Matchday 18. They were soon two goals to the good as Maurice Malone added a second shortly before the break, with Nuremberg struggling to contain their rampant hosts. Kleindienst added a second with a few minutes remaining and, despite Manuel Schäffler's late effort, the three points were safe for Heidenheim.
Karlsruhe 2-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Ginczek (31'), 0-2 Hennings (37'), 1-2 Wanitzek (66'), 2-2 Hofmann (83')
Düsseldorf headed into Matchday 18 just four points clear of the promotion/relegation playoff place and were aiming to pull themselves away from the bottom three with victory. And they were given the lead shortly after the half hour mark as Daniel Ginczek tapped home Rouwen Hennings' rifled cross. Hennings was on target himself six minutes later as Düsseldorf continued their fine recent form. Marvin Wanitzek pulled one back from the penalty spot for the home team with a little over 20 minutes to play and Karlsruhe pulled level with seven minutes to play thanks to Philipp Hofmann.