2nd league
Düsseldorf (dpa) – disillusionment in Bremen, great emotions at FC Schalke – in the promotion race to the Bundesliga, the candidates deliver an exciting final with constantly changing positions.
A week after the 4-1 triumph at Schalke, the Werder supporters were able to save their jubilation after the 2-3 defeat by Holstein Kiel. “It’s a blow to the neck, we don’t have to talk about it,” said Werder coach Ole Werner, whose team missed out on victory and the big step towards the Bundesliga after a 2-0 lead by Niclas Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch.
“We played with fire after the 2-0 lead. Of course, if we play like that, we don’t get promoted. We have to be aware of that for the last two games,” said Bremen defender Marco Friedl before the games at FC Erzgebirge Aue and against Jan Regensburg. “But we’re still looking ahead. We’ll work things out, we’ve found the right answers to backlashes in the past and now we have to find an answer again,” said coach Werner.
Match winner Terodde
Due to the bankruptcy, Bremen even slipped to third place because SV Darmstadt 98 won 6-0 (4-0) against Auer, who were relegated as a result. The Hessians can continue to dream of promotion as second.
Hurricane-like cheering erupted in Sandhausen after Simon Terodde’s winning goal in injury time. “It’s unbelievable what happened here. The fans pushed us to victory,” the Schalke striker croaked into the microphone. The 34-year-old didn’t know what to do with the emotions. “I would have preferred to run out of the stadium,” said Terodde, who scored both goals for Schalke and was able to regain the lead in the table with his team.
Coach Mike Büskens and sporting director Rouven Schröder were overwhelmed by the cheering of almost 10,000 Schalke fans. “It’s unbelievable what they’re ripping off here. It’s like ecstasy. The boys deserved it so mercilessly that we scored exactly this goal so late. It goes down like oil,” said Schröder.
Büskens, who has experienced a lot with the club, couldn’t believe it. “I saw 25,000 fans with Schalke at the Uefa Cup victory in Milan. But that was a second Milan today,” said the 54-year-old. Nevertheless, the ascent is not yet bagged. “That was an important win for us. But we still have two difficult games against FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Nürnberg,” emphasized Büskens. “We stay in the here and now,” said the Schalke coach.
HSV stay tuned
Also in stoppage time, FC St. Pauli lost a better position in the promotion race in a 1-1 draw against 1. FC Nürnberg. A week before the game against table leaders Schalke 04, confidence at Millerntor is no longer particularly high. “We lost 1-1 today,” said coach Timo Schultz in consternation. “Even as the chief optimist, I find it difficult to get the curve there.”
City rivals Hamburger SV drew level with the Kiez-Kickers after the 4-0 win in Ingolstadt, but they have by far the best goal difference in the league and, as fourth in the table, now have to hope for a blunder from the competition.