Liberation for Braunschweig
©IMAGO
FC Schalke 04 suffered the next setback in the promotion race in the neighborhood duel against VfL Bochum. Eintracht Braunschweig celebrated an important victory in the fight to stay in the 2nd Bundesliga against Karlsruhe – as did bottom team Fürth in Kiel.
Coach Miron Muslic’s Schalke team lost 0-2 (0-0) in the Ruhrstadion. S04 have not won four games in a row and could lose their lead in the table on Sunday. Even star striker Edin Dzeko, who came on as a substitute for the second half, could not prevent the defeat this time. Koji Miyoshi (1st minute) and Philipp Hofmann (43rd) scored the goals for VfL.
Bochum got off to a dream start. Only 42 seconds had been played before Miyoshi gave the hosts the lead. After preparatory work by Gerrit Holtmann, the Japanese shocked the front runner. Schalke reacted well. Mika Wallentowitz had a great chance to equalize, but his shot rolled a few centimeters past the Bochum goal (10th).
Two Schalke goals don’t count against VfL Bochum
A thrilling and balanced game developed. Schalke had more possession, Bochum had the better chances. Above all, the very agile Holtmann was repeatedly dangerous on the left side. The 30-year-old also prepared Bochum’s second goal. This time Hofmann used his precise pass in the middle.
In the second half, Schalke increased the pressure with Dzeko. After a corner, Nikola Katic scored the supposed goal. However, referee Michael Bacher ruled a foul and disallowed the goal. Another Schalke goal from Kenan Karaman was subsequently disallowed due to a previous handball by Dzeko.
Even without a captain: Braunschweig defeats Karlsruhe
Meanwhile, Braunschweig defeated Karlsruher SC 1-0 (1-0) and increased their lead over relegation place 16 to four points. Kevin Ehlers (19th) made the decision with his goal in the first half. A Karlsruhe goal from Louey Ben Farhat in the 31st minute was disallowed due to an offside position.
In the short term, Backhaus did without captain Sven Köhler, who wants to move to the Grasshopper Club Zurich in Switzerland. “We need full focus on the game. We need guys who light the stadium on fire, who concentrate the energy,” said the coach. Accordingly, the Lower Saxony team dominated the game with great motivation. Eintracht repeatedly created scoring opportunities, but both Johan Gómez (32′) and Sidi Sané (45’+2) were denied by the good KSC goalkeeper Hans Christian Bernat.
In the second half, the guests increased the pressure, but remained too harmless in front of the Braunschweig goal. Both substitute Rafael Pinto Pedrosa (68th) and Fabian Schleusener (71st) missed the Eintracht goal. KSC’s best chance went to youngster Eymen Laghrissi, who shot over the goal from a free stand in the 80th minute. Almost in return, Bernat once again prevented Robin Heußer from scoring Eintracht’s second goal on a counterattack. In stoppage time, Karlsruhe’s Leon Opitz headed the ball onto the post.
End of the negative series: Greuther Fürth wins at Holstein Kiel
SpVgg Greuther Fürth has broken its negative run in the 2nd Bundesliga. The 2:1 (0:0) at Holstein Kiel was the Franconians’ first success after seven games without a win. With 19 points, the game association remains bottom of the table, but has regained the connection. In front of the 11,594 spectators, Aaron Keller (50th) and Noel Futkeu (77th/penalty) scored the goals for the guests. Jonas Meffert (61st) equalized to make it 1-1.
With temperatures below freezing, Fürth started bravely and attacked the hosts early. But there were no great chances to finish. In return, Kiel’s game was too imprecise and too harmless. It took until the 27th minute before Steven Skrzybski had the first shot on goal of the game. The Kiel captain’s long-range shot went well over the crossbar.
Almost out of nowhere, the cloverleaf took the lead. Keller won the ball on the baseline in the Kiel penalty area against the inattentive David Zec and shot from a tight angle into the short corner. Kiel then increased the pressure and was rewarded. After a clever pass from Lasse Rosenboom, Meffert equalized. But the guests were not shocked. After Umut Tohumcu’s foul on Aiman Dardari, Futkeu safely converted the penalty. The Kiel team botched their dress rehearsal for the cup quarter-finals on Wednesday (8:45 p.m./ZDF and Sky) against VfB Stuttgart.
