2. Bundesliga
Goals from Jan-Niklas Beste, Steve Breitkreuz, David Otto and Sarpreet Singh seal a fourth win on the bounce for Jahn Regensburg as the league leaders brushed Schalke aside 4-1 on Saturday.
Regensburg 4-1 Schalke
Goals: 1-0 Beste (8'), 2-0 Breitkreuz (56'), 3-0 Otto (73'), 3-1 Terrode (81'), 4-1 Singh (87')
With three wins from three and with a record of eight goals scored, none conceded, Regensburg went into the meeting with Schalke in fine form and sitting pretty in top spot. The visitors, however, started the better and controlled proceedings, albeit without managing to muster a shot in any real anger on the hosts' goal. The same could not be said for Regensburg, who pounced on a defensive error to take the lead as Schalke paid the price for being too slow in possession on the edge of their own box. The ball eventually found its way to Beste and his superb left-footed strike curled out of Ralf Fährmann's reach and into the top corner. Schalke would have been two behind at the break if it wasn't for Fährmann's excellent double save to deny Otto.
Dimitrios Grammozis called on new loan signing Ko Itakura at the start of the second period and it looked to have made a difference early on as Schalke again came out the traps looking in control. This would prove another false dawn, however, as Regensburg preyed on their opponent's defensive weakness to make it 2-0. On-loan Bayern Munich man Singh's floated free-kick from the left wasn't dealt with by the Schalke defence, leaving Breitkreuz to arrow home across goal. With 15 minutes to go, Regensburg had their now customary third as Otto nodded home Beste's corner and, after Simon Terodde's late consolation, Singh rammed home to put the gloss on a win that sees Mersad Selimbegovic's team tighten their early grip on first place.
Line-ups
Regensburg: Meyer - Faber, Breitkreuz, Kennedy, Wekesser (Saller 90+1') - Besuschkow (Boukhalfa 83'), Gimber - Beste, Singh (Zwarts 88') - Albers (Caliskaner 90'), Otto (George 88')
Unused subs: Kunz, Nachreiner, Elvedi, Makridis
Out: -
Coach: Mersad Selimbegovic
Schalke: Fährmann - Ranftl (Churlinov 62'), Thiaw, Kaminski, Ouwejan - Flick (Itakura 46'), Palsson (Mikhailov 83') - Zalazar, Drexler (Pieringer 83') - Bülter, Terodde
Unused subs: Langer, Aydin, Becker, Hoppe, Wouters
Out: Latza (knee)
Coach: Dimitrios Grammozis
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2-2 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 0-1 Mühling (5’), 1-1 Narey (40’), 1-2 Skrzybski (65’), 2-2 Peterson (87’)
Holstein Kiel only just missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga at the end of last season – losing out to Cologne in the play-offs – but they remain without a league win in 2021/22 after a 2-2 draw in Düsseldorf on Friday. It was not through lack of trying, however: Ole Werner’s side twice took the lead, only to be pegged back each time, including a late equaliser from Fortuna supersub Kristoffer Peterson three minute from time. Still, it was Kiel’s first point of the campaign, with Düsseldorf in mid-table on four.
Hannover 1-0 Heidenheim
Goals: 1-0 Weydandt (88’)
Hannover picked up their first win of the season on Friday, but they left it late to finally break Heidenheim’s resistance. Hendrik Weydandt was only brought off the bench in the closing stages of the game, but he proved to be the hero for the home side when he drilled in a powerful shot with just two minutes left on the clock, showing a clinical edge his teammates had lacked with a number of presentable chances earlier in the encounter.
Karlsruhe 0-0 Werder Bremen
Red card: Wanitzek (57')
Karlsruhe maintained their unbeaten start to the season and kept a third successive clean sheet after a goalless draw with Werder, despite Marvin Wanitzek’s 57th-minute red card following two bookings in the space of seven minutes. Even with the numbers advantage, Markus Anfang’s visitors couldn’t find a breakthrough and sit in mid-table after one win, two draws and a defeat from their first four fixtures back in the second division.
Paderborn 3-1 St. Pauli
Goals: 0-1 Burgstaller (28'), 1-1 Dzwigala o.g. (45'), 2-1 Pröger (65'), 3-1 Michel (90+3')
Red card: Ziereis (6')
The visitors went into their trip to Paderborn buoyed by last week’s derby win over Hamburger but were up against it early on as Philipp Ziereis was handed a straight red-card after just eight minutes. But St. Pauli found themselves in front less than half an hour into proceedings, with Guido Burgstaller grabbing his second goal of the season. Paderborn fairly fortuitously equalised on the stroke of half time as Adam Dzwigala turned into his own net and the host’s wrapped up all three points thanks to second-half strikes from Kai Pröger and Sven Michel.
Hansa Rostock 1-3 Dynamo Dresden
Goals: 0-1 Mörschel (1’), 1-1 Mamba (43’), 1-2 Vlachodimos (63’), 1-3 Kade (70’)
Last season’s third division champions got the better of their fellow promoted club in Saturday’s late kick-off. Dresden took the lead with less than a minute on the clock when Heinz Mörschel tapped home Ransford Königsdörffer’s parried shot. The hosts drew level just before half-time when Streli Mamba chested down and finished a cross flicked on in the box. They had the better chances to start the second half as well but fell behind again just after the hour mark when Panagiotis Vlachodimos headed in Christoph Daferner’s cross. They extended their advantage only minutes later when Julius Kade put away another rebound after Markus Kolke failed to hold Philipp Hosiner’s header. It makes it three wins and a draw from four games for promoted Dresden as they claim early second place behind flawless Regensburg.
Hamburg 2-2 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Tietz (pen. 14'), 1-1 Schonlau 30', 2-1 Heyer (45'), 2-2 Tietz (45'+4)
All four goals fell in a barnstorming first half in Hamburg. Phillip Tietz broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after being caught late by Jonas David, but HSV hit back through Sebastian Schonlau and Mortiz Heyer goals to lead. Tietz headed in an equaliser in stoppage time, though, to send the two sides in level at the break. The Darmstadt danger man was denied his hat-trick by home goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes, while the likes of Bakery Jatta and Benjamin Goller also went close to finding a winner. The Red Shorts climb to seventh, a point and three places above Darmstadt.
Watch: Hamburg 2-2 Darmstadt - in 60 seconds!
Aue 1-3 Sandhausen
Goals: 0-1 Esswein (52'), 1-1 Gueye (65'), 1-2 Bachmann (82'), 1-3 Soukou (88')
Sandhausen were the dominant side from the off, as Alexander Esswein fired an early warning shot against the inside of a post and into the grateful arms of Martin Männel. The woodwork denied Marcel Ritzmaier from range, before Aue's Omar Sijaric passed up the chance to strike against the run of play after a slip from Bashkim Ajdini. Esswein broke the deadlock soon after the restart following slick interplay between Arne Sicker and Daniel Keita-Ruel, only for Babacar Gueye to restore parity with his head. Dimitrij Nazarov and Gueye spurned presentable chances to forge ahead, with Nazarov also having a goal ruled out for offside. Late Janik Bachmann and substitute Ceibio Soukou goals swung the contest decisively in the favour of Sandhausen, who celebrated their first victory of the campaign. Winless Aue slip into the relegation play-off spot.
Ingolstadt 0-0 Nuremberg
Ingolstadt's Stefan Kutschke and Dennis Eckert Ayensa tested Christian Mathenia in the early stages. Nuremberg fired back following a mistake by Fabijan Buntic in the Ingolstadt goal, but Michael Heinloth was in the right place at the right time to clear Kutschke's goal-bound effort. Buntic was then indebted to Denis Linsmayer for clearing a Tim Handwerker effort off the line. Defences prevailed at both ends throughout the second period as Ingolstadt picked up their first point of the campaign, with Nuremberg extending their unbeaten start to four matches.