2. Bundesliga
Sunday's top of the table clash between Paderborn and Hamburg delivered on its pre-match expectations as HSV edged a thrilling contest 3-2 thanks to Laszlo Benes' second half winner.
Paderborn 2-3 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Leipertz (assist: Pieringer) 3', 1-1 Glatzel (assist: Dompe) 23', 1-2 Dompe (assist: Benes) 45'+2, 2-2 Leipertz 51', 2-3 Benes (assist: Dompe) 61'
Second hosted third at the Home Deluxe Arena on Sunday, with Paderborn looking to move top with a win and Hamburg aiming to leapfrog their hosts into second-place. And the home side made the perfect start; Robert Leipertz blasting them in front from close range after just three minutes. HSV were second best for almost the entirety of the opening exchange, but they were level midway through the first half thanks to Robert Glatzel's firm header. Tim Walter's side were vastly improved after restoring parity and looked the likelier of the two teams to take the lead before the break. They did just that on the stroke of half time as Dompe - who supplied Glatzel's opener - cut in from the right and let fly into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Glatzel had a good chance to make it 3-1 just after the break but his effort from just outside the box was well saved by Paderborn goalkeeper, Jannik Huth. HSV looked like they may run riot, but Paderborn quickly pegged them back thanks to Leipertz's second of the game. Much like his opener, Leipertz turned home from close range following Marvin Pieringer's persistence in the build-up - this time making it 2-2 and drawing his team level. Within 10 minutes, the pendulum swung back in Hamburg's favour once more. Dompe, who was excellent throughout and involved in all three of his team's goals, tormented out wide before finding Benes on the penalty spot to sweep HSV in front for the second time in the game. It would prove to be the final decisive act of the game, giving Hamburg all three points and moving them into second-place at the expense of their hosts.
Match stats
Teams
Paderborn: Huth - Heuer (Tachie 86'), Hünemeier (Srbeny 64'), Hoffmeier - Schallenberg (c) - Justvan, Rohr, Muslija (Mehlem 65'), Leipertz (Ofori 86') - Pieringer, Conteh (Platte 65')
Unused subs: Schulze, van der Werff, Müller, Carls
Out: Klaas (cruciate ligament), Raphael Obermair (cold)
Coach: Lukas Kwasniok
Hamburg: Heuer Fernandes - Mikelbrencis (Königsdörffer 68'), Vuskovic, David, Muheim - Meffert (c) - Reis, Benes - Dompe (Bilbija 78'), Glatzel, Kittel (Suhonen 78')
Unused subs: Raab, Zumberi, Andresen, Amaechi, Sanne
Out: Heyer (ankle), Jatta (ankle), Krahn (knee), Leibold (muscular), Megeed (foot), Mickel (ankle), Schonlau (suspended)
Coach: Tim Walter
Magdeburg 1-1 Heidenheim
Goals: 0-1 Thomalla 23' (assist: Kleindienst), 1-1 Ito 90'+3 (assist: Ceka)
Frank Schmidt's promotion chasers were denied a first win in five games at the death, Tatsuya Ito's injury-time leveller rescuing a point for lowly Magdeburg. Denis Thomalla took full advantage of a clinical Heidenheim counter-attack to fire the visitors in front but they failed to turn the screw in the second half. Magdeburg forced an error late on and when Ito's shot took a deflection before flying in, home celebrations could begin. The result keeps Heidenheim on the periphery of the top three.
Greuther Fürth 1-0 Arminia Bielefeld
Goals: 1-0 Sieb 30'
Fürth won this battle-of-the-basement encounter between two of last season's Bundesliga sides thanks to Armindo Sieb's goal in the first half. The Cloverleaves were under the guise of new coach Alexander Zorniger for the first time and moved off the foot of the table via Sieb's shot that squirmed in on the half hour. In a second half of few chances, Sieb fluffed his lines as he looked to put daylight between the teams but the miss mattered little as Fürth picked up a second win of the campaign that left Bielefeld bottom.
Jahn Regensburg 0-3 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 0-1 Pröger 7', 0-2 Pröger 26' (assist: Hinterseer), 0-3 Elvedi (o.g.) 64'
The visitors bounced back from last week's reverse at home to Kaiserslautern by putting Jahn to the sword, a result that pushed Jens Härtel's team to within one point of their opponents. Man-of-the-match Kai Pröger weighed in with two unanswered goals in the opening 26 minutes with well-placed strikes. When Jan Elvedi put through his own net not long after the hour mark, the game was over as a contest and Hansa had their first victory in four games.
Holstein Kiel 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Appelkamp 42' (assist: Peterson), 1-1 Skrzybski 70', 1-2 Kownacki (pen.) 82'
Red card: Sobottka 90'+3
Dawid Kownacki's penalty inside the final ten minutes allowed Düsseldorf to slide up to fifth in the Saturday-night standings and left Kiel slipping back the other way. With the game heading towards a scoreless first half, Shinta Appelkamp took full advantage of some good work from Kristoffer Peterson before firing Fortuna ahead. Steven Skrzybski made the most of some uncertainty in the visitors' defence before striking in the equaliser against the run of play. Fortuna weren't to be denied a very first win against Kiel at this level, however, Kownacki keeping his composure to score form the penalty spot. Marcel Sobottka's dismissal for a second yellow card in injury time failed to affect the outcome.
Kaiserslautern 0-0 Nuremberg
Christian Mathenia proved Nurmberg's hero, the goalkeeper thwarting the hosts time and again to help earn Der Club a point at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Despite feeling they could have won this encounter, Dirk Schuster's promoted team added to an impressive record that sees the Red Devils having lost just once in their last ten games (seven draws). Nuremberg have now failed to score in their last two.
St. Pauli 1-1 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Ronstadt (assist: Mehlem) 60', 1-1 Daschner (assist: Metcalfe) 64'
League leaders Darmstadt travelled to St. Pauli on Saturday evening with the express aim of chalking up a victory that would put them three points clear of their hosts' city rivals, Hamburg, before HSV tackled Paderborn the following day. And they took a stunning lead on the hour mark through Frank Ronstadt, who collected the ball wide on the left before dribbling beyond two defenders and placing a stunning finish into the far top corner. That lead would last just four minutes, though, as Lukas Daschner secured a point by firing home from close range.
Watch: Pauli and Darmstadt play out 1-1 draw - in 60 seconds!
Sandhausen 2-2 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Ujah (assist: Henning) 52', 1-1 Bachmann (assist: Esswein) 66', 1-2 Donkor (assist: Lauberbach) 74', 2-2 Kinsombi (assist: Soukou) 80'
Visiting Braunschweig twice took the lead at Sandhausen, but ultimately had to settle for a draw against their struggling hosts. Anthony Ujah first had his team in front seven minutes into the second half, before Janik Bachmann pegged the away team back for the first time. Anton Donkor then looked to have put his side back on course for victory with just over quarter of an hour remaining but Sandhausen hauled themselves level for the final time with 10 to go. David Kinsombi was the man who provided the crucial leveller, earning the home team a vital point.
Hannover 1-0 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Weydandt (assist: Köhn) 56'
Red card: Gondorf 62'
The Hannover faithful could have been forgiven for thinking it wasn't going to be their day once Havard Nielsen missed a 43rd-minute penalty - the 29-year-old's very first attempt as a professional from 12-yards. Nielsen's blushes were spared by Hendrik Weydandt's effort early in the second period and Hannover eventually held on to all three points to keep them within touching distance - five points to be specific - of top. As for Karlsruhe, they saw Jerome Gondorf sent off with 28 minutes to play for a second yellow card of the game and they remain 10th as a result of a seventh defeat of the campaign.