Leistner flies off the pitch
©IMAGO
Being outnumbered, Hertha BSC lost contact with the top group in the 2nd Bundesliga at the last second. Paderborn and Darmstadt ended in a draw and both missed the jump to second place.
Hertha BSC loses sight of the promotion places in the 2nd Bundesliga. The Berliners had to settle for a 1-1 (0-0) draw against newly promoted Arminia Bielefeld by conceding a goal in the last second and have now been without a win for three games. Arminia has been waiting for three points since November 8th.
44,698 spectators in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium saw a largely uneventful game, the result of which didn’t really help either team. Stefano Russo (90+6) equalized Paul Seguin’s opening goal (67th minute) shortly before the end of the game. In the 85th minute, Toni Leistner was sent off with a red card because of an emergency stop. Being outnumbered, the Berliners were unable to maintain their narrow lead over time. The capital club remains in the upper midfield. Bielefeld failed to gain a comfortable cushion over the relegation zone.
Darmstadt squandered a 2-0 lead in Paderborn
Due to a 2:2 (0:2) draw in the second division duel, SC Paderborn and Darmstadt 98 both failed to jump to second place in the table for the time being. The Darmstadt team lost a 2-0 half-time lead, but remained unbeaten in the seventh game in a row. The Paderborn team were rewarded for a braver second half, but missed the best second division first half of the season in the club’s history.
The Darmstadt team got off to a lightning start. Paderborn’s Tjark Scheller deflected the goal to make it 1-0 by Marco Richter (4th), his fourth point in three games, past goalkeeper Dennis Seimen. Before the break, Killian Corredor increased the score to 2-0 (37th) against a nervous Paderborn team. For the hosts, who were now much braver, Mika Baur initially reduced the lead to 1:2 (55th) in the second half. After a handball in the penalty area by Darmstadt’s Kai Klefisch, Sebastian Klaas converted the penalty in the 85th minute to make the final score a deserved 2-2. Before the four-week winter break, both clubs remain in the running. Paderborn was last first class in 2019/20, Darmstadt in 2023/24.
