A week after the win against HSV, VfL Osnabrück missed their next win in the 2nd Bundesliga: against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, a 2-0 lead was not enough at 2:2 (2:1). The FCK even missed two penalties.
After the completely surprising 2-1 against Hamburger SV on matchday 7 – their first win of the season – VfL Osnabrück now wanted to follow up against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. But that wasn’t so easy, because the FCK presented themselves courageously at the Bremen Bridge from the final whistle and took the initiative.
Lautern dominates, but misses a penalty
After a quarter of an hour, this style of play should have paid off because the Palatinate team were awarded a penalty. Richmond Tachie stormed into VfL’s 16 and was brought down somewhat impetuously by keeper Lennart Grill. FCK defense chief Kevin Kraus went to the point, but shot so poorly that Grill was able to save. And Kraus couldn’t even get the follow-up shot past the keeper.
A sigh of relief for the hosts, who took advantage of the unexpected momentum and made it 1-0 two minutes later: Erik Engelhardt came from the right with the ball at his feet, played a one-two with Jannes Wulff and scored from 13 meters with a shot into the far corner – 1 :0 (17th).
VfL doesn’t bring the score 2-0 into the break
In the 37th minute, VfL turned to victory even more vehemently: FCK midfielder Kenny Redondo brought down Wulff in his own penalty area. Mickaël Cuisance confidently sank the ball to make it 2-0. Osnabrück seemed to be on track at half time. But things turned out differently with the half-time whistle: Julian Niehues headed in a simple Lauterer corner kick from six meters to make it 2-1. The Palatinate were back in the match.
The goal actually had an impact: Kaiserslautern gained a lot of steam after the break. Pushed the hosts back powerfully and gained big advantages in possession. However, the Lauterers were not really dangerous in terms of goalscoring.
Boyd misses Lauterer’s second penalty
On the other hand, the preliminary decision should have been made in the 77th minute. Osnabrück’s substitute Noel Niemann ran all alone towards the visitors’ goal after a long pass that was undermined by FCK defender Jan Elvedi. Maybe the attacker had too much time to think – in any case he put the ball just wide of the goal.
It remained momentous in terms of points because VfL couldn’t make it 2-1 over time. First, Terrence Boyd failed to score the second penalty for 1. FC Kaiserslautern in stoppage time against keeper Grill. One turn of the clock later, Boris Tomiak was there after a corner kick and scored the late but deserved 2-2.
Osnabrück in Düsseldorf, Kaiserslautern welcomes Hanover
VfL Osnabrück is challenged to start the 9th matchday away against Fortuna Düsseldorf (Friday, October 6th, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.). Kaiserslautern hosts Hannover 96 at the same time.