Dynamo took the break at the bottom
©IMAGO
Holstein Kiel gave Dynamo Dresden a troubled turn of the year. Thanks to the Storks’ 2-1 (1-1) home win, the Saxons are starting the new year bottom of the table in the 2nd Bundesliga. Kiel, on the other hand, jumped to tenth place, at least until Sunday. In front of the 15,034 spectators in the sold-out Holstein Stadium, Vincent Vermeij (12th minute) put the guests in the lead. Phil Harres (29th) and Ivan Nekic (51st) turned the game in favor of the North Germans.
“I waited a long time for my playing time and wanted to represent Komenda well today. I’m super happy about the win and also that I was able to reward myself with the goal,” said Nekic after his winning goal. Colleague Harres emphasized after the final whistle: “We really wanted to win. We did it – no matter how. Today we can really take a deep breath. But it was three points. Nothing more, nothing less.” Holstein’s Steven Skrzybski was also relieved after the game: “Everyone can read the table and knew how explosive this game was. We knew it would be heated. Everyone fought for each other. We turned the deficit around. That brings us closer together.”
Dresden started the game in a very defensive basic order, leaving the ball and the build-up of the game to the hosts. The Kiel team had more than 60 percent possession of the ball in the opening phase, while Dresden relied on quick counterattacks. A tactic that quickly turned out to be a recipe for success: Jakob Lemmer’s shot (11th), who had broken through, was cleared for a corner. The Saxons then used this stationary ball to take the lead with Vermeij’s header. It took Kiel a long time to digest the shock of being behind early on. Skrzybski initiated the equalizer with a robust recovery of the ball on the halfway line. Harres used his clever cross pass from ten meters without any problems.
Even after the break, the hosts remained the more dominant team. Nekic provided the reward. In a copy of Dresden’s opening goal, the central defender scored with a header to make it 2-1 for the storks. While Holstein then switched to administration mode, Dresden avoided the final risk. So Kiel brought the victory through nine minutes of stoppage time. For the Schleswig-Holstein team it was their first success after four winless games in a row. Dresden, on the other hand, suffered its third defeat in a row.