2. Bundesliga
Darmstadt striker Phillip Tietz scored the only goal of the game as the Bundesliga 2 leaders sealed promotion to the top flight with a 1-0 victory over Magdeburg.
Darmstadt 1-0 Magdeburg
Goals: 1-0 Tietz (36')
Following last week's surprising 2-1 defeat in Hanover, Torsten Lieberknecht's Darmstadt side went into this game determined not to miss out on their next opportunity to book their place among the big boys for 2023/24. After a period of early sparring, the match came to life in the 13th minute when Tietz went around goalkeeper Tim Boss only to see his shot hooked off the line. Just seconds later, the visitors very nearly edged ahead at the opposite end of the pitch when Mo El Hankouri was played through one-on-one on the counter, only to be thwarted by a brilliant Marcel Schuhen save. The decisive moment arrived in the 36th minute when Tietz lashed in on the rebound from close range after Magdeburg struggled to deal with a cross.
The home side clearly decided that attack was the best form of defence in the second half, and rather than merely protecting their lead, Darmstadt set out to kill the game off. Marvin Mehlem had a promising chance to do so with an angled drive that Boss did well to turn around the post, before Schuhen was called into action to make a double save, first pawing away a cross to prevent Luca Schuler from heading in and then scrambling up to parry Jason Ceka's effort on the rebound. There were to be no late twists in the closing stages as Darmstadt held on to secure promotion back to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2016/17.
Teams
Darmstadt: Schuhen - Pfeiffer, Gjasula, Zimmermann - Karic, Schnellhardt (Bennetts 87'), Kempe (Riedel 79'), Holland (c) - Mehlem - Tietz (Isherwood 87'), Stojilkovic (Honsak 70')
Unused subs: Brunst, Warming, Ben Balla, Seydel, Torsiello
Out: Bader (suspended), Manu (suspended), Müller (muscular) Ronstadt (adductor)
Coach: Torsten Lieberknecht
Magdeburg: Boss - Bockhorn, Lawrence, Heber, Bell Bell (Ito 46') - Gnaka (Ullmann 62'), Elfadli (Brünker 85'), Conde (c) - Ceka, El Hankouri (Piccini 85'), Atik (Schuler 62')
Unused subs: Kruth, Sechelmann, Bittroff, Cacutalua,
Out: Castaignos (knee), Franzke (muscular), Halbouni (cruciate ligament), Kath (Achilles tendon), Krempicki (meniscus), Müller (ankle), Reimann (pubitis), Rieckmann (meniscus)
Coach: Christian Titz
Matchday 33 round-up
Holstein Kiel 3-4 St. Pauli
Goals: 1-0 Skrzybski (pen. 28'), 1-1 Afolayan (39'), 1-2 Wahl (og. 53'), 1-3 Daschner (61'), 1-4 Paqarada (74'), 2-4 Komenda (78'), 3-4 Reese (90+3')
St. Pauli held off Holsten Kiel to edge a seven-goal Friday night thriller and take their third win in four. Steven Skrzybski had put the hosts in front from the spot, only for the visitors to smash four in either side of half-time for a commanding lead. English winger Oladapo Afolayan was sent off in the final minutes having levelled for St. Pauli, but his team-mates hung on for the points.
Heidenheim 1-0 Sandhausen
Goals: 1-0 Beste (68')
A big winning goal from Jan-Niklas Beste put Heidenheim within sight of securing a historic first ever promotion to the Bundesliga. The breakthrough was long overdue with the hosts firing 21 shots on the target of Sandhausen - whose relegation is now confirmed. Tim Kleindienst cut back for Beste to slot in midway through the second half. A win next week at Jahn Regensburg would definitely secure Bundesliga football next season.
Watch: Heidenheim close in on promotion with 1-0 win against Sandhausen
Eintracht Braunschweig 1-2 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Pherai (2'), 1-1 Makridis (21'), 1-2 Owusu (49')
Jahn Regensburg took a battling comeback win in Braunschweig. The visitors knew three points would be essential to keep their survival hopes alive, and hit back after Immanuel Pherai's opener with a Charalambos Makridis volley and tidy Prince Owusu finish. Regensburg's opening goalscorer saw a second yellow card in the final seconds, and the victory was ultimately not enough - with Bielefeld getting a draw, Regensburg need an improbably high win on the final day to avoid automatic relegation.
Hamburg 2-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Muheim (27'), 2-0 Benes (69'), 2-1 Petkov (87')
Red cards: Jatta 87', Abiama 90'+6
Hamburg returned to within a point of second-placed Heidenheim with a narrow win over Fürth. The hosts took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to a stunning Miro Muheim strike from just outside the penalty area, and they doubled their advantage midway through the second period when Laszlo Benes converted from the spot after Robert Glatzel was hauled down in the area by Gian-Luca Itter. Lukas Petkov did halve the deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining but, although Bakary Jatta and Dickson Abiama were sent off for HSV and Fürth respectively, the hosts held on mathematically secure they can finish no lower than third this term.
Watch: Highlights of Hamburg's win
Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Paderborn
Goals: 1-0 Lasme (8'), 1-1 Pieringer (25'), 2-1 Vasiliadis (36'), 2-2 Conteh (58')
Arminia Bielefeld got a draw at home to high-flying Paderborn that is not enough to move them out of a promotion/relegation play-off spot, but does pull them decisively away from the automatic relegation spots. Bryan Lasme gave the hosts a deserved lead before Sebastian Vasiliadis scored a screamer against his former club, although the visitors pounced on two mistakes to twice level the tie.
Fortuna Düsseldorf 3-3 Hannover
Goals: 0-1 Teuchert (12‘), 0-2 Schaub (21‘), 1-2 Klaus (30‘), 2-2 Klaus (52‘), 3-2 Ginczek (77‘), 3-3 Beier (89‘)
The fans in the Merkur Spielarena witnessed the most goals in a single game there all season as Hannover salvaged a late draw in a topsy-turvy encounter. Cedric Teuchert put the guests in front early on and Louis Schaub doubled their lead in the 21st minute. Fortuna fired back with two goals from Felix Klaus bringing them level and Daniel Ginczek giving them the lead, but for Maximilian Beier to deny them all three points at the death.
Karlsruhe 2-0 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 1-0 Zivzivadze (70’), 2-0 Nebel (90‘)
Karlsruhe took derby honours with a late smash-and-grab win over their local rivals Kaiserslautern. The guests – looking for a win which would guarantee they would finish higher than their hosts in the table – were the better team for much of the 90 minutes, but could not take their chances. Karlsruhe then struck with extreme efficiency, Budu Zivzivadze and Paul Nebel taking practically their only chances of the game later on to clinch all three points as the two teams traded places in the table.
Nuremberg 0-0 Hansa Rostock
Nuremberg will go into the final weekend of the season still needing a win to be sure of staying up after being frustrated at home by Hansa Rostock. The Bavarians, knowing a win would secure their place in Bundesliga 2 next season, asked all the questions, but lacked a clinical edge in attack as Rostock defended resolutely to get the point they needed to be certain of staying up.