2. Bundesliga
Hamburg's hopes of automatic promotion took a hit at Magdeburg, who had Moritz-Broni Kwarteng, Baris Atik and Tatsuya Ito on target in a fine win for the hosts.
Magdeburg 3-2 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Kwarteng 32', 1-1 Kittel 42', 2-1 Atik 74', 3-1 Ito 86', 3-2 Reis 90'
With Heidenheim - in second - winning at Greuther Fürth on Friday night, the challenge was laid down to third-placed Hamburg ahead of their visit to the MDCC-Arena. A win would keep Tim Walter's men right in touch with the automatic promotion spots. Earning it would prove tricky against a Magdeburg side intent on cementing their place in the second division, however. Buoyed by their dramatic 4-3 win against derby rivals St Pauli last time out, HSV's determined start was reflected by a couple of disallowed goals from Moritz Heyer and Jonas David. Magdeburg were also in high spirits having seen off Eintracht Braunschweig last weekend and Christian Titz's side hit the front here when Kwarteng converted following some fine work by Leon Bell Bell. Dominik Reimann's double save to deny Jean-Luc Dompe and Bakery Jatta kept the hosts ahead. The lead wouldn't last long. When Robert Glatzel picked out Kittel, the 30-year-old's spin and shot brought parity.
Magdeburg had a nine-point cushion between themselves and the drop-zone going into this Matchday 30 encounter, but the hosts nonetheless needed to keep their eye on the ball with the season rapidly heading towards completion. Failing to do just that immediately after the restart almost proved costly. Daniel Heber's back-pass caught Reimann off guard and the goalkeeper had to scramble back to save. The custodian then denied Dompe to give Magdeburg heart. The home side subsequently went at their opponents and they were back in front after Atik connected with Jason Ceka's cut-back to find the top corner. With Hamburg desperate to find an equaliser, spaces opened up at the other end. If Kai Brünker almost sealed the deal for the hosts with a spectacular effort that landed wide, Ito made no mistake with four minutes to play. The ex Hamburg man played a one-two with Ceka before curling home to send his former side home nursing a headache, despite Ludovit Reis's best efforts to ease the pain with a HSV second.
Teams
Magdeburg: Reimann - Bockhorn, Lawrence, Heber, Bell Bell - Gnaka (Bittroff 90'+1), Elfadli - Conde - Kwarteng (Ceka 46'), El Hankouri (Ito 71'), Atik (c) (Brünker 81')
Unused subs: Boss, Dzogovic, Sechelmann, Cacutalua, Ullmann
Out: Castaignos (knee), Franzke (muscular), Halbouni (cruciate ligament), Kath (Achilles tendon), Krempicki (meniscus), Müller (ankle), Piccini (hand), Rieckmann (meniscus), Schuler (back)
Coach: Christian Titz
Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes – Heyer, David (Benes 76'), Schonlau (c), Muheim – Kittel, Krahn (Suhonen 76'), Reis – Jatta, Glatzel, Dompe (Königsdörffer 76')
Unused subs: Raab, Montero, Zumberi, Kisilowski, Bibija, Heil
Out: Meffert (suspended), Nemeth (ankle), Vuskovic (suspended)
Coach: Tim Walter
Matchday 30 roundup
Holstein Kiel 0-3 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Müller (6'), 0-2 Lorenz o.g. (22'), 0-3 Tietz (52')
Knowing victory would move them to within three points of rubber-stamping promotion to the top-tier - and eight from sealing the second division title - Darmstadt travelled to Kiel with Bundesliga football firmly within their sights. And they quickly raced into the lead as Jannick Müller headed his team in front with just six minutes on the clock. By the time Simon Lorenz scored at the wrong end of the pitch midway through the first half, Darmstadt were cruising towards a 19th league victory of the season. Phillip Tietz’s third made sure of just that, leaving Darmstadt on the brink of securing top-flight football next season.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 3-2 Karlsruhe
Goals: 0-1 Kaufmann (28'), 1-1 Peterson (33'), 1-2 Heise (66'), 2-2 Zimmermann (72'), 3-2 de Wijs (90'+3)
Düsseldorf found themselves trailing inside the first half hour, Mikkel Kaufmann providing the goal to put another dent in the home team's outside promotion bid. But Kristoffer Peterson soon smoothed it out, drawing the hosts level within five minutes of going behind. The two sides quickly exchanged goals in the second period, too, with Philip Heise putting the away team in front before Matthias Zimmermann’s swift leveller. Jordy de Wijs grabbed a dramatic winner at the death, to keep his team's faint top-three hopes alive.
Watch: Fortuna's last-gasp win against Karlsruher
Greuther Fürth 0-2 Heidenheim
Goals: 0-1 Kleindienst 7', 0-2 Beste 51'
Heidenheim gave their promotion push a boost with a win in Fürth on Friday night. Bundesliga 2 top scorer Tim Kleindienst netted his 23rd goal of the season on the rebound after Damian Michalski rattled his own post. Jan-Niklas Beste doubled the visitors' lead at the start of the second half by slotting into an empty net after Kleindienst had chased at Andreas Linde in the hosts' goal. Heidenheim's third win in a row gave them a four-point cushion over Hamburg in second.
Paderborn 5-1 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 1-0 Justvan 28', 2-0 Obermair 45+1', 3-0 Conteh 52', 3-1 Ujah 53', 4-1 Srbeny 90', 5-1 Srbeny 90+4'
Paderborn made their outside bid for a promotion play-off seem a little less unlikely with a thumping win over Braunschweig. Julian Justvan opened the scoring with a header midway through the first-half, before Raphael Obermair doubled the lead just before the break. A Sirlord Conteh strike and late Dennis Srbeny brace completed the scoring for the hosts, while Anthony Ujah scored the visitors' consolation goal.
Sandhausen 2-1 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Papela (16'), 2-0 Dumic (52'), 2-1 Osei Owusu (64')
Red card: Guwara (85')
The league’s bottom two met in Sandhausen, with three points separating the last place hosts and their 17th-placed visitors as they faced off in a critical fixture in the division’s ongoing relegation battle. It was Sandhausen that landed the first blow, Merveille Papela striking a crucial second league goal of the season, one that was aided by a heavy deflection. Dario Dumic provided a second seven minutes after the break, before Prince Osei Owusu halved the deficit but Regensburg’s late effort to snatch a point was served a further blow when Leon Guwara saw red. Sandhausen held firm for victory, moving level with Regensburg in the process.
St. Pauli 2-1 Arminia Bielefeld
Goals: 1-0 Hartel 53', 2-0 Daschner 69', 2-1 Consbruch 73'
St Pauli were able to bounce back from defeat in a dramatic Hamburg derby last weekend with a win at Millerntor that keeps their aim of forcing a way into the top three intact for now. Three second half strikes decided the tie, with Marcel Hartel giving the Kiezkicker the lead against his former club before Lukas Daschner bundled in a second. Jomaine Consbruch's powerful header couldn't prevent an important win for St. Pauli that keeps Bielefeld in real relegation danger.
Kaiserslautern 0-1 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 0-1 Pröger 42'
Hansa Rostock did their survival hopes a world of good by taking a smash-and-grab single-goal win at Kaiserslautern. Kai Pröger scored the winner just before the break with a curling strike on a quick, and rare, Rostock attack. Kaiserslautern had 65% possession, fired 14 shots and had a Philipp Hercher goal disallowed for offside with ten minutes remaining, but the visitors held on for their second win and clean sheet in succession.
Hannover 3-0 Nuremberg
Goals: 1-0 Börner 43', 2-0 Köhn 49', 3-0 Beier 70'
Hannover took a big win over Nuremberg that all but confirms their status in Bundesliga 2 next season, while Nuremberg remain in relegation trouble. A Julian Börner header put the hosts in front at the end of an even first-half, while a drive from Derrick Köhn and Maximilian Beier finish helped Hannover run away with the points. Hannover thought they had a fourth via a Havard Nielsen header in stoppage time, but the strike was ruled out for offside after a VAR check.