:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64921870/1159317403.jpg.0.jpg)
Two matchdays worth of fixtures have shown that the 2. Bundesliga might need quite a while before it sorts out the haves from the have-nots. Here are the results from Matchday 2:
Bochum 3 – Arminia Bielefeld 3
The Ruhrstadion in Bochum was the place to be on Friday evening as Bochum and Bielefeld got the weekend’s slate of fixtures off to a flying start, which is incredible considering that the first 45 minutes were scoreless.
It was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, with Andreas Voglsammer finishing off a classy counterattack built up by midfielders Jóan Símun Edmundsson and Cebio Soukou. It took less than 2 minutes for Bielefeld to double their lead, with Voglsammer this time turning provider for striker Fabian Klos.
With the prospect of opening the season with two straight defeats looming, Die Unabsteigbaren dug deep and responded with aplomb. They were given an unwitting assist by Voglsammer, who conceded a penalty by fouling Bochum substitute Tom Weilandt in the box. Ex-Eintracht Frankfurt man Danny Blum duly converted the spot kick and it was game on.
Bochum leveled things in the 80th minute through striker Silvère Ganvoula M’boussy, who scored from long range. It was then the Congolese’s turn to provide in the 85th minute, his marauding run through the Bielefeld defense resulting in a cross goal pass that Simon Zoller tapped home with ease for the 3-2 comeback.
Alas for Bochum, the scoring was not done, and it would unfortunately be concluded by one of their own, as midfielder Anthony Losilla’s desperate attempt to deny Klos a brace merely resulted in the French midfielder deflecting the ball past his own keeper, meaning that a crazy last 45 minutes resulted in shared points between the sides.
Osnabrück 1 – Sandhausen 0
A week after coming up short at home vs Heidenheim in their return to the second division, Osnabrück scored their first win of the season on the road at Sandhausen.
Despite controlling most of the ball throughout the match, Sandhausen were unable to do much of anything with it, as Osnabrück frustrated the hosts with a disciplined effort that saw Sandhausen flagged offside 8 times over the course of the match.
Ultimately, it was Osnabrück substitute Marcos Alvarez who provided the difference, scoring the match’s only goal in the 78th minute. His direct free kick from just beyond the penalty area rattled off the crossbar before dropping down just beyond the goal line, to give Lila-Weiß a deserved 3 points.
Greuther Fürth 3 – St Pauli 1
In a clinical display, Fürth put 5 of their 6 shots on target, with 3 finding the back of the net in a controversial victory on the road over St Pauli on Saturday.
Kiezkicker and manager Jos Luhukay felt hard done by on Fürth’s opener in the 17th minute. Captain Christopher Avevor went down with injured in the middle of the pitch, but Kleeblätter played on and the ensuing move ended with striker Daniel Keita-Ruel finding the back of the net. Avevor was ultimately diagnosed with a fractured fibula and high ankle sprain, which will cause him to miss significant time.
Keita-Ruel would secure his brace in the 35th minute, heading home after the St Pauli defense left him unmarked. The hosts would claw one back before halftime, when Dimitrios Diamantakos headed in Ryo Miyaichi’s cross from the wing.
St Pauli pushed hard for an equalizer in the second half, but former Bayern, Hamburg, and Stuttgart man Julian Green put the match away 20 minutes before the final whistle, with a powerful shot into the corner from 20 yards out.
Karlsruher 4 – Dynamo Dresden 2
Newly promoted KSC turned up the wick in the second half of their home opener and streaked to a comfortable win over visiting Dresden.
Sascha Horvath opened the scoring for the visitors in the second minute of first half stoppage time, only for KSC forward Philipp Hofmann to equalize with a header less than a minute later.
Hofmann’s goal ended up being the first of four unanswered by the hosts, despite Dresden dominating possession 71%-29%. Dortmund loanee Dženis Burnić turned the ball into his own net in the 60th minute and Hofmann scored his third goal in two matches 8 minutes later after a quickly taken KSC free kick.
Substitute Manuel Stiefler scored KSC’s fourth in the 80th minute after good work from fellow substitute Dirk Carlson. The visitors pulled one back in stoppage time through Moussa Koné, but it was too little, too late, and KSC earned their second victory in as many matches, while Dresden were left stuck on league bottom without a point.
Hannover 1 – Jahn Regensburg 1
The home opener for Die Roten ended in disappointment as Regensburg fought back to earn a point at the HDI-Arena.
Hannover had big advantages In several offensive categories including possession (69%-31%), shots (22-9) and corners (8-1), but were unable to find a way past a determined Regensburg side for most of the match.
It was striker Hendrik Weydandt who finally gave Hannover the lead on 66 minutes. Good work on the right wing from Florent Muslija left the Regensburg defense reeling and the ball eventually fell to Weydandt who dispatched it coolly.
Alas, in what was their first real chance of the second half, Regensburg drew level in the 77th minute through substitute Andreas Albers. Regensburg turned up the pressure as time waned, but neither side was able to find the second goal they needed and it finished even.
Heidenheim 2 – Stuttgart 2
The match of the weekend on Sunday afternoon featured division heavyweight Stuttgart traveling to the eastern edge of Baden-Württemberg to face Heidenheim at the Voith-Arena.
Tim Walter’s squad bossed much of the match, holding big advantages in terms of possession (67%-33%) and shots on goal (10-5), but Frank Schmidt’s charges were their typical organized, disciplined selves and the first half ended scoreless.
Stuttgart broke things open in the 52nd minute with Hamadi Al Ghaddioui scoring his first goal for the club off of a cross from Daniel Didavi. They doubled their lead 5 minutes later through defender Holger Badstuber, who slotted past Heidenheim keeper Kevin Müller from close range.
However, much like their come-from-behind win against Osnabrück on Matchday 1, Heidenheim refused to give up and on 78 minutes, winger Robert Leipertz hit the target from the edge of the box and cut the lead in half. Six minutes later, after Stuttgart failed to clear a corner, Heidenheim midfielder Niklas Dorsch’s powerful shot was deflected into Gregor Kobel’s net by Stuttgart defender Marc-Oliver Kempf, marking the second consecutive match that a Stuttgart defender has put the ball in their own net.
Stuttgart had a glorious chance to win the match in stoppage time, but substitute Mateo Klimowicz could only bash the ball against the post with an open goal at his mercy, in what is easily the biggest miss of the young season.
Erzgebirge Aue 3 – Wiesbaden 2
Die Veilchen made it two wins out of two to start the season in a hotly contested affair at the Erzgebirgsstadion.
The two clubs combined for more cautions (9) than goals, but in the end it was the East Germans who emerged victorious.
Florian Krüger put the hosts ahead in the the 19th minute and fellow attacker Dimitrij Nazarov scored from distance on 35 minutes to double their lead. It was the Azerbaijani’s second goal in as many matches to open the season. Wiesbaden pulled one back before halftime through striker Phillip Tietz, meaning both sides had all to play for in the second half.
Both sides pushed hard in the last 45, Erzgebirge looking to put the match away, Wiesbaden looking to equalize. It was the hosts who were rewarded, with substituted Tom Baumgart beating Wiesbaden keeper Lukas Watkowiak from distance on 82 minutes. Max Dittgen pulled the visitors within one goal again in the 89th minute, but Wiesbaden couldn’t find the elusive equalizer, giving Daniel Meyer’s charges their second consecutive win to open the season.
Darmstadt 2 – Holstein Kiel 0
After coming agonizingly close to a major upset away to Hamburg on matchday 1, Darmstadt took care of business against visiting Kiel to earn their first win of the season.
The stats don’t particularly tell the story of the match (Kiel ended up with a 72%-28% advantage in possession), but after opening the scoring on 11 minutes, Darmstadt never looked particularly threatened by the visitors.
Tim Skarke scored through the legs of Kiel keeper Dominik Reimann in the 11th minute off a lovely pass from Marvin Mehlem. Kiel came close to equalizing through striker Lee Jae-sung later in the half, but Darmstadt keeper Florian Stritzel produced a fine save to deny the South Korean international.
Serdar Dursun closed out the scoring in the 64th minute, scoring from the penalty spot after being brought down in the buildup of play just moments earlier, consigning Andre Schubert’s side to a second consecutive disappointing result to open the season.
Hamburg 4 – Nürnberg 0
You wonder if Dieter Hecking had some choice words for Der Dino after their dismal display the previous weekend, because Der Dino came out on Monday evening and thoroughly dominated a largely ineffective Nürnberg side.
Ex-Dortmund academy graduate Jeremy Dudziak opened the scoring 12 minutes into the match, scoring into the bottom corner after a feed from left-back Tim Leibold. HSV doubled their lead at the half hour mark when Leibold won a free kick 25 yards away from the Nürnberg goal and Sonny Kittel scored in the far corner past a diving Christian Mathenia.
HSV stifled the Nürnberg attack all match, so that the hosts did not record a single shot on target the entire 90 minutes.
Kittel set up the third in the 72nd minute, making mincemeat out of a Nürnberg defender before laying the ball to substitute Khaled Narey who finished well in the bottom left corner. Nürnberg’s miserable night was capped off by an own-goal, Tim Handwerker unable to do anything but turn Adrian Fein’s cross goal blast into his own net.
Table
Here is how the top of the table stacks up through Matchday 2:
1. Karlsruher – 6 points (+3 GD)
2. Erzgebirge Aue – 6 points (+3 GD)
3. Hamburg – 4 points (+4 GD)
4. Heidenheim – 4 points (+2 GD)
5. Jahn Regensburg – 4 points (+2 GD)
6. Darmstadt – 4 points (+2 GD)
7. Stuttgart – 4 points (+1 GD)
Key Upcoming Matches – Matchday 3 (August 16 – 19)
Bochum @ Hamburg – Friday 8/16, 12:30 pm EST
St Pauli @ Stuttgart – Saturday 8/17, 7:00 am EST
Erzgebirge @ Bielefeld – Saturday 8/17, 7:00 am EST
Karlsruher @ Holstein Kiel – Sunday 8/18, 7:30 am EST