In a true offensive spectacle, SpVgg Greuther Fürth beat Karlsruher SC 4:3 (3:3) on the club’s birthday. This meant that the Franconians climbed up the table of the 2nd Bundesliga and left the relegation places. Karlsruhe missed the connection to the top places and remains in the middle of the league.
Tim Lemperle (5th minute), Dickson Abiama (13th/45th) and Damian Michalski (64th) scored the Fürth goals on Saturday (September 23rd, 2023), Robin Bormuth (7th), Marvin Wanitzek ( 25th) and Lars Stindl (45th). Julian Green also saw a yellow-red card for the Green-Whites (56′).
Spectacular initial phase between Fürth and KSC
Fürth’s 120th anniversary got off to a fantastic start: After three minutes, Lemperle took advantage of a corner to make it 1-0. But the Karlsruhe team played the party-disrupter just four minutes later – Bormuth’s take after a free kick from Paul Nebel ended up in the net to equalize. Referee Patrick Ittrich awarded the goal according to the video images.
The “Cloverleaves” didn’t let that sit for long: after 13 minutes, Abiama put the ball back in the Karlsruhe goal. After the furious initial phase with three goals, the game calmed down a bit, with both sides having a few half chances. Wanitzek finally let the KSC celebrate the equalizer again with a shot into the right corner.
Fürth outnumbered to take the lead
The game then took a 20-minute timeout – only to have two more goals ready in stoppage time in the first half: First Stindl set up for Karlsruhe, but Abiama immediately countered with his second goal, giving the visitors the lead.
After the break, Fürth suffered a personnel setback. Green received a second yellow card for pulling his jersey and consequently had to go to the locker room early. But the people from Fürth were outnumbered again: At a corner, Karlsruhe’s defensive allocation was wrong and the ball fell at Michalski’s feet, giving the hosts their third lead of the day.
KSC offensively too uncreative
The “Cloverleaves” then switched to counterattacks and the guests now had significantly more possession of the ball. However, the KSC hardly made anything of this against cleverly defending hosts. Karlsruhe remained without ideas for a long time. Only shortly before the end did KSC throw everything forward and get their opportunities: First Jonas Urbig saved twice in the Fürth goal from a corner, then Wanitzek missed (88′). Stindl also only hit the side netting 60 seconds later.
Karlsruhe against Kiel, Fürth in Elversberg
On the next match day, the KSC will host the Holstein Kiel team (Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.). Fürth is challenged a day later in Elversberg (1:30 p.m.).