2nd League 23rd matchday
Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – Before the eagerly awaited direct duel, Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV failed in the promotion battle of the 2nd Bundesliga.
The two northern rivals did not get beyond a draw on Saturday. Despite the successful streak that ended after seven wins, Bremen took over the lead in the table for at least 24 hours with a 1-1 (0-0) win against bottom club FC Ingolstadt with 42 points. HSV (41) also only managed a 1:1 (0:1) at SV Sandhausen. As a result, the leading duo can be overtaken by pursuers FC St. Pauli (41) and Darmstadt 98 (40) on Sunday.
Werner missed the Rehhagel record
The draw meant that Bremen coach Ole Werner missed setting the starting record set by club icon Otto Rehhagel, who had managed eight wins with Werder in the 1980/81 second division season after taking office. Niclas Füllkrug gave the home side the lead in front of 15,000 spectators in the 75th minute, which Filip Bilbija (85th) equalized. Ingolstadt temporarily improved to 17th place due to the draw with 15 points.
“Today we didn’t do a lot of things well. We weren’t there 100 percent. That costs points,” Werder goalscorer Füllkrug criticized himself on the Sky microphone. Coach Werner struggled with the poor exploitation of chances. “We weren’t callous enough,” he said. “In terms of feeling, the draw is not enough. We are not satisfied with that.”
Slowly acting HSV still comes to balance
A winning streak also ended for HSV. Coach Tim Walter’s team, which had won the last three games, remained undefeated in Sandhausen for at least the seventh game in a row. “Of course we would have liked to win, but every point is very, very important. You can’t assume that every team up there will win every game,” said midfielder David Kinsombi. After Pascal Testroet (15′) gave the hosts, who were threatened with relegation, an early 1-0 lead, the guests, who were initially very sluggish, turned up the heat in the second half and equalized through Sonny Kittel (59′).
In the midfield duel of the previous table neighbors, Karlsruher SC retained the upper hand at Holstein Kiel 2-0 (1-0). Daniel O’Shaughnessy (17th) and Fabian Schleusener (68th) scored the goals for KSC in front of 7953 spectators. 1. FC Nürnberg deservedly won 2-0 (1-0) in the Bavarian duel with Jahn Regensburg. Striker Pascal Köpke (35th minute) and midfielder Taylan Duman (55th) scored in front of 23,042 spectators at the Max Morlock Stadium.