In stoppage time, SV Sandhausen saved a point in the 3rd league against “Bayern-Schreck” 1. FC Saarbrücken.
Both teams competed in the DFB Cup during the week, but while SV Sandhausen missed a surprise against Bayer Leverkusen, 1. FC Saarbrücken managed a sensation against FC Bayern Munich. The guests were unable to build on this success. Sandhausen fought self-sacrificingly until the last minute and secured a point with goals from Rouwen Hennings (45th + 1) and Yassin Ben Balla (90th + 4). Manuel Zeitz (24th) and Kasim Rabihic (48th) scored for FC.
Both teams changed two positions
Like the guests from Saarbrücken, Sandhausen’s coach Jens Keller changed his starting eleven in two positions compared to the cup: David Otto and Tim Maciejewski replaced Richard Meier and Sebastian Stolze from the start. Saarbrücken’s coach Rüdiger Ziehl relied on Tim Civeja and Kai Brünker instead of Fabio Di Michele Sanchez and Simon Stehle.
The home team had their first chance of the encounter. Alexander Mühling narrowly missed the goal from a tight angle in the seventh minute. The guests’ first shot – a header from Manuel Zeitz (12th) – also flew past the goal. Zeitz did better in the 24th minute: After a free kick from Kasim Rabihic, Brünker’s header was initially blocked, but Zeitz reacted faster than the Sandhausen defenders and thundered the ball into the net from four meters to make it 1-0 for the guests. But the hosts didn’t let themselves down. In stoppage time in the first half, it was veteran Rouwen Hennings who ice-coldly sank the ball down the left to make the score 1-1 at halftime.
Hand penalty for Saarbrücken
Just three minutes after the restart, referee Robin Braun decided on a hand penalty for Saarbrücken. Rabihic stepped up and invited SV goalkeeper Nikolai Rehnen. After the 2-1 lead for Saarbrücken, there were initially no compelling chances. In the final phase, the Sandhäuser took command. The guests concentrated more and more on defense and hoped for a counterattack. However, the hosts initially lacked any brilliant ideas to break through Saarbrücken’s defensive bulwark. Only a standard in the 90th minute really threatened the Saarbrücken goal, but Hennings’ free kick from 17 meters hit the crossbar. The hosts’ tireless efforts were finally rewarded: in the 94th minute, Yassin Ben Balla equalized to make it 2-2. The Sandhäuser almost scored the winning goal through Richard Meier, but the ball was scratched off the line by Luca Kerber.
SV Sandhausen travels to Arminia in Bielefeld next Saturday (2 p.m.), while 1. FC Saarbrücken welcomes 1860 Munich at the same time.
