Fortuna Düsseldorf has lost contact with the promotion places in the 2nd Bundesliga.
Coach Daniel Thioune’s team had to settle for a 2-2 (1-0) draw at Karlsruher SC after a serious mistake by keeper Florian Kastenmeier and is still waiting for a win after the fifth league game of the year.
Christos Tzolis (37th/51st) scored twice for Düsseldorf, Jerome Gondorf (48th) and David Herold (63rd) equalized for Karlsruhe thanks to Kastenmeier’s help. Düsseldorf is seventh in the table with 33 points and is now nine points behind second place. The KSC (29) missed out on getting within one point of Fortuna with a home win.
In an entertaining encounter in front of 26,563 fans, both teams initially tried to control the game. Just as the hosts were putting more pressure on, Fortuna struck – Tzolis scored with a header from close range. Throwing cups at Rhinelander professionals briefly caused excitement before the break.
After the break it went back and forth. First Gondorf headed in, Tzolis responded with his eleventh goal of the season. Kastenmeier then helped decisively to equalize again: the goalkeeper let a seemingly harmless long-range shot from Herold slip through his hands.