2. Bundesliga
Simon Terodde and Malick Thiaw scored second-half goals as Schalke battled back to beat Jahn Regensburg 2-1 to keep up their promotion push.
Schalke 2-1 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 0-1 Albers 32', 1-1 Terodde 63' (assist: Bülter), 2-1 Thiaw 73' (assist: Bülter)
Schalke welcomed Regensburg to the Veltins-Arena knowing that victory could potentially pull them into second depending on other results, and they started on the front foot with Thomas Ouwejan driving in a low cross which Terodde was inches away from meeting. Andreas Vindheim - a goalscoring debutant as the Royal Blues beat Erzgebirge Aue 5-0 last time out - made way for Reinhold Ranftl early on due to injury, but the first-half traffic continued to flow in the hosts' favour and Ouwejan saw another cross deflected clear by Steve Breitkreuz. Schalke then hit the crossbar from a free-kick after Ouwejan's cross-turned-shot caught Regensburg keeper Alexander Meyer cold. The visitors carved out a chance of their own midway through the half when Sarpreet Singh found Andreas Albers at the back post, but his header came to nothing. Regensburg snatched the lead against the run of play just past the half hour, though, Albers thumping home his third goal of the season from outside the box after being allowed to drive through the middle.
Schalke were unchanged at the interval and started the second half with the same vibrancy they had the first, with Marvin Pieringer finding the power but not the accuracy to test Meyer with a left-footed effort from range. Regensburg settled as the game approached the hour mark, though, and Carlo Boukhalfa was twice inches away from making it 2-0, one effort fizzing just past the post whilst another minutes later crashed back off the crossbar. Dimitrios Grammozis rang the changes soon after, with Marius Bülter, Darko Churlinov and Thiaw all entering the fray, and Regensburg's confusion as to who to pick up served the hosts well, with Terodde poking home his league-leading 15th goal of the campaign after Bülter had nodded the ball down to him. An Ouwejan corner then found its way to Thiaw via Bülter and the big defender snatched the win with a header.
Line-ups
Schalke: Fraisl - Itakura, Sane (Thiaw 63'), Kaminski - Palsson (c) - Vindheim (Ranftl 8'), Zalazar (Churlinov 62', Flick 80'), Idrizi, Ouwejan - Terodde, Pieringer (Bülter 62')
Unused subs: Fährmann, Lode, Mikhailov, Rzatkowski
Out: Aydin (hamstring), Drexler (muscular), Langer (knee)
Coach: Dimitrios Grammozis
Regensburg: Meyer - Faber (Yildirim 90'), Breitkreuz, Elvedi, Guwara - Gimber (c) (Makridis 83'), Besuschkow - Singh (Caliskaner 83'), Boukhalfa (Otto 78'), Wekesser (Shipnoski 78') - Albers
Unused subs: Kirschbaum, Zempelin, Nachreiner, Schröder
Out: Kennedy (international duty), Saller (suspended)
Coach: Mersad Selimbegovic
Matchday 21 round-up
Darmstadt 0-5 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Glatzel (pen.) 5', 0-2 Glatzel 10' (assist: Muheim), 0-3 Glatzel 13' (assist: Heyer), 0-4 Wintzheimer 76' (assist: Heyer), 0-5 Glatzel 88' (assist: Krahn)
Robert Glatzel struck an incredible four goals - including the second division's joint-earliest hat-trick - to help HSV to a big win against leaders Darmstadt. The Red Shorts burst out of the blocks and were ahead early on when Glatzel netted from the penalty spot after Faride Alidou was fouled in the area. Just five minutes later, Glatzel headed home Miro Muheim's free kick. The 28-year-old completed an astounding hat-trick inside 13 minutes, volleying in Moritz Heyer's centre from the right. The Lilies improved significantly after the restart and even had a goal ruled out by VAR. Torsten Lieberknecht's side were caught on the counter-attack by substitute Manuel Wintzheimer to fall further behind, however, while Glatzel helped himself to a fourth as the Red Shorts moved to within two points of their beaten opponents.
Watch: Glatzel's four goals in HSV's comprehensive win
Bremen 2-1 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Ducksch (assist: Groß) 51', 1-1 Hofmann (assist: Wanitzek) 59', 2-1 Jung (assist: Mbom) 76'
Werder Bremen made it six games unbeaten under head coach Ole Werner with a 2-1 win over Karlsruhe. Ducksch missed a glorious opportunity to put Bremen in front in the first half, but he made amends early in the second from Groß' pass. Hofmann silenced the home fans soon after, heading in Wanitzek's corner, but Bremen kept their composure and Jung earned them a deserved win with a header from Mbom's cross.
Sandhausen 2-0 Aue
Goals: 1-0 Soukou (pen. 45'), 2-0 Kinsombi (69')
Sandhausen pulled five points clear of the relegation zone and left Erzgebirge Aue deep in trouble with a 2-0 win in a relegation six-pointer. Soukou gave them the lead from the penalty spot after Barylla was seen to handle a Zhirov header, with VAR confirming the call to the referee. Kinsombi then put the result beyond doubt with an individual effort to put five points between the two teams in 16th and 17th place.
St. Pauli 2-2 Paderborn
Goals: 1-0 Dittgen (assist: Amenyido) 5', 1-1 Srbeny (assist: Muslija) 37'), 2-1 Amenyido (assist: Dittgen) 44', 2-2 Stiepermann (assist: Platte) 84'
Paderborn left it late to put a dent in St. Pauli's promotion hopes as they held the Hamburg high-flyers to a 2-2 draw. Dittgen gave the hosts – who would have gone top with a win – an early lead, but this was cancelled out by Srbeny. Amenyido, who had missed a glorious opportunity to double the hosts' lead earlier on, restored their advantage before half-time, turning in Dittgen's pass. It was not enough for victory, though, as Stiepermann equalised five minutes from time.
Heidenheim 3-1 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Hult (o.g.) 4', 2-0 Mohr 33' (assist: Leipertz), 2-1 Beier 35' (assist: Diemers), 3-1 Mohr 48'
Heidenheim are within touching distance of the 2. Bundesliga leaders following a straightforward win against troubled Hannover. The visitors, sitting uncomfortably just above the relegation zone, got off to the worst possible start when Gael Ondoua's clearance hit teammate Niklas Hult, which resulted in an own goal. Tobias Mohr's precise finish later in the half had the hosts sitting pretty, that is, until Maximilian Beier reduced the arrears against the run of play. Frank Schmidt's men reestablished their two-goal cushion following Mohr's long-range spectacular shortly after the restart while the hosts could even afford to miss several chances to pull further ahead as they moved to within two points of leaders Darmstadt.
Nuremberg 0-5 Ingolstadt
Goals: 0-1 Pick 13' (assist: Schmidt)', 0-2 Ayensa 17' (assist: Pick), 0-3 Bilbija 41' (assist: Ayensa), 0-4 Schmidt 49' (assist: Ayensa), 0-5 Sulejmani 80' (assist Ayensa)
Bottom placed Ingolstadt breathed life, and hope, into their chances of survival by producing a stunning upset to hammer a Nuremberg side that have designs on promotion to the Bundesliga this season. The home side, defensively frail throughout, were given a warning of things to come in the 12th minute when Patrick Schmidt hit the crossbar. Almost immediately afterwards, Florian Pick pounced on a defensive lapse before embarking on a run and unleashing a shot that opened the scoring. Involved throughout, the superb Dennis Eckert Ayensa then made it 2-0 while Filip Bilbija rounded off a fine counter attack to increase the visitors' lead. The division's lowest scorers prior to this game, Die Schanzer were four in front when Schmidt took advantage of some more great work by Eckert Ayensa. It was left to substitute Valmir Sulejmani to complete a day to forget for Nuremberg with ten minutes to go.
Dynamo Dresden 1-4 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 0-1 Verhoek 6' (assist: Duljevic), 0-2 Fröling 10' (assist: Behrens), 0-3 Fröling 13' (assist: Behrens), 0-4 Verhoek 18' (assist: Rhein), 1-4 Kade (assist: Königsdörffer)
Groans of disappointment rang around the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion as hosts Dynamo imploded to trail 4-0 after just 18 minutes. Both sides are now level on points in the lower half of the table but it is Jens Härtel's Hansa Rostock who will take a huge heart from this result going into the next round of games. John Verhoek's eleventh goal of the season got Hansa up and running with a sixth minute header and the Dutch forward would bring his tally for the season up to 12 not long afterwards. In between times, a double from new signing Nils Fröling inflated the scoreline as the visitors ran riot, much to Dynamo's despair. Home coach Alexander Schmidt rang the changes and and his side were rewarded with a consolation midway through the second half, Julius Kade's long-range effort bringing some home cheer.