Darmstadt wins late in Hanover
©IMAGO
FC Schalke 04 took the lead in the 2nd Bundesliga again, at least overnight. With the 1-0 win in the top game against third-placed SV 07 Elversberg, the Royal Blues moved past SC Paderborn, who were playing in Magdeburg, by one point. The fact that the Saarlanders are still in the relegation zone is also due to the fact that Hannover 96 were unable to maintain a 2-1 lead against Darmstadt 98 and even lost in stoppage time due to Hiroki Akiyama’s goal. Meanwhile, Arminia Bielefeld (now eighth) is at least close to the top spots with a confident 4-0 win against fifth-placed Karlsruher SC.
An early goal is enough: Schalke beats Elversberg and jumps to the top
FC Schalke 04 defeated SV Elversberg and is, at least for the time being, top of the 2nd Bundesliga. Coach Miron Muslic’s team defeated the Saarland team 1-0 (1-0) in the top game of the two promotion candidates. With their success, the Gelsenkirchen team stopped their small negative trend. Schalke had lost the previous two competitive games. For Elversberger, who started the game in third place and therefore directly behind Schalke, it was the fourth game in a row without a win. The Revierclub now has 27 points, Elversberg another 23 points.
In front of 61,818 fans in Gelsenkirchen, Hasan Kuruçay scored the decisive goal for the hosts in the fourth minute. Elversberg actually didn’t play badly and even showed better technical football for a long time. However, there was a lack of precision when it came to the last pass or when finishing. A goal from Younes Ebnoutalib did not count due to an offside position. The Schalke team, who lost several top performers, were particularly convincing in their fighting spirit.
In the second half, a medical emergency caused an awkward mood among the spectators. Paramedics brought a fan from the stands on a stretcher. “We wish you all the best,” wrote FC Schalke on
Desolate KSC missed the jump to third place in Bielefeld
Against a furious newcomer Arminia Bielefeld, Karlsruher SC miserably missed the jump to the relegation place. Just a week after the late coup against Schalke 04, the Baden team suffered a 0:4 (0:1) defeat at the DFB Cup finalists and slipped to sixth place. Arminia, which collected seven points from the last three games, finds itself in a secure midfield.
After Bielefeld had taken the lead immediately before half-time thanks to a penalty from Joel Grodowski (45+3), they went into a frenzy in the second half. In particular, the KSC couldn’t get the strong Monju Momuluh under control at all. The new signing from Hannover 96 scored just ten seconds after the restart and secured the preliminary decision four minutes later (50′). Noah Sarenren Bazee was also successful for the hosts (60th).
A good 25,000 fans saw a balanced game for one half. The KSC tried to control the game, but acted without efficiency and hardly had any chances in the goal area. Bielefeld were different, as they were dangerous with ambush-like counterattacks and took ice-cold advantage of the guests’ mistakes. Marcel Franke was responsible for the penalty when he pulled Maximilian Großer’s jersey. After VAR intervened, the penalty was due.
Immediately after the restart, Philipp Förster made a bad pass, which Momuluh gratefully accepted. The hosts’ lively winger repeatedly caused unrest and even scored his first brace in the second division. This meant that the East Westphalians were able to win against KSC for the first time in almost ten years.
Lucky Punch: Darmstadt 98 wins duel against Hannover 96
SV Darmstadt 98 has overtaken Hannover 96 in the promotion battle. In the pursuit duel, the Hessians achieved a 3:2 (1:2) in Hanover in almost the last minute. Hiroko Akiyama scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure a hard-fought victory. The man of the game from Darmstadt’s perspective was Killian Corredor (5th minute), who gave the guests the lead and also scored the equalizer in the 50th minute. Ime Okon (18th) and Kolja Oudenne (33rd) scored for the hosts in front of 40,100 fans. Due to the defeat, 96 missed the jump to third place and is currently fifth in the table, directly behind Darmstadt.
Both teams delivered a top game. The guests had the better start and deservedly took the lead. Hannover became stronger as the game went on and increased the pressure. After equalizing and taking the lead, the hosts had several great chances. Among other things, Benjamin Källman and Oudenne hit the crossbar and the post. Akiyama from Darmstadt was also unlucky when he hit the crossbar shortly before half-time.
The Hessians came out of the locker room with momentum and got the equalizer they deserved. Hannover struggled to create offensive actions for some time. The Darmstadt team had two more aluminum hits. In the final phase, luck was on their side thanks to Akiyama’s goal.