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The 2. Bundesliga returns from the international break with a dynamic slate of fixtures and one historic derby result. Here are the results from Matchday 6:
Karlsruher 1 – Sandhausen 0
A 57th minute goal from midfielder Manuel Stiefler saw Karlsruher snap a 3 match losing streak and halt Sandhausen’s 3 match winning streak on Friday evening.
Sandhausen made the short 25 mile journey south to the Wildparkstadion looking to build upon their surprising start to the season. It was an even match from the start, with both sides creating chances, but unable to put the ball in the net. KSC keeper Benjamin Uphoff denied Erik Zenga off a beautifully taken free kick, shortly after counterpart Martin Fraisl denied Philip Hoffman what would’ve been his league leading 5th goal of the season.
Stiefler’s goal came almost immediately after a head-to-head collision between he and Sandhausen midfielder Rúrik Gíslason. The Icelandic international went to the sideline for treatment, but Stiefler stayed on the pitch, where he found himself in the right place at the right time to push the ball over the line after Hoffman’s headed cross landed at the midfielder’s feet.
KSC came very close to doubling their advantage in the 68th minute, but Fraisl saved well from Marvin Pourié’s header. The hosts were nevertheless able to see out the match and come away with 3 valuable points.
Greuther Fürth 2 – Wiesbaden 1
Wiesbaden’s woeful start to the season continued, as Fürth came from behind in the last 10 minutes to snatch the 3 points and consign the visitors to another week at the bottom of the table.
Wiesbaden looked the better side in an otherwise dull first half, with striker Manuel Schäffler coming within centimeters of giving his side the lead in the 7th minute after good work from Stefan Aigner. They would be rewarded just after halftime, when those same two players combined to create the opener. Aigner’s pass didn’t look all that dangerous initially, but Schäffler masterfully controlled the ball and smashed it into the corner past Kleeblätter keeper Sascha Burchert.
Fürth duly turned up the pressure after the opener, creating several scoring chances that Wiesbaden just barely managed to fend off. The almost inevitable equalizer came in the 81st minute, when substitute Tobias Mohr’s low cross found fellow substitute Daniel Keita-Ruel, who merely had to push the ball over the line for 1-1.
David Raum, the third Fürth substitute, won a penalty in stoppage time and, after a VAR check, Julian Green stepped up to the spot and dispatched the spot kick to give Kleeblätter the win, and break Wiesbaden hearts once more.
Stuttgart 3 – Jahn Regensburg 2
One of Matchday 6’s biggest matches took place at the Continental Arena on Saturday afternoon, where Stuttgart ran out deserved winners over a determined Regensburg side.
The hosts, fresh off a 5-0 drubbing of Wiesbaden in their last match before the international break, looked to frustrate Stuttgart early on, but Stuttgart’s large possession advantage paid off in the 24th minute, when Regensburg keeper Alexander Meyer couldn’t control the rebound after saving Pascal Stenzel’s initial shot. Nicolás González got to the loose ball first and scored.
Stuttgart remained in the ascendancy throughout most of the match, but it never felt like Regensburg were completely out of it. Their determination paid off in the 71st minute, when Stenzel gave away a penalty after clumsily tripping Jann-Christopher George. Max Besuschkow scored from the spot and the match was suddenly even.
The visitors retook the lead barely 5 minutes later, when Meyer flapped at a corner, allowing Holger Badstuber a free header into an empty net. Substitute striker Hamadi Al Ghaddioui seemingly wrapped up the points for Stuttgart two minutes into stoppage time when he scored with his wrong foot, but Federico Palacios pulled one back for Regensburg just a minute later. Alas, there wasn’t enough time for the hosts to find another equalizer and Stuttgart ran out the winners, to continue their unbeaten start to the season and jump to the top of the table.
Arminia Bielefeld 2 – Hannover 0
Die Roten’s miserable start to the season continued as visiting Arminia Bielefeld triumphed over ten man Hannover.
Hannover started the match brightly, with Florent Muslija and Felipe putting the ball on target, only to be denied by Bielefeld keeper Stefan Ortega. But Bielefeld gradually grew into the match, with Jóan Símun Edmundsson forcing Ron-Robert Zieler into a smart save at the other end.
It was Bielefeld legend Fabian Klos who opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, heading past Zieler from Marcel Hartel’s free kick. It was Klos’s fourth goal of the campaign, tying him for the league lead. Hannover looked to respond immediately, but Muslija’s shot was cleared off the line by Jonathan Clauss, and Bielefeld were able to withstand the subsequent pressure until halftime.
Hannover kept up the pressure in the second half, but Bielefeld looking dangerous in their own right. A mistake in the 63rd minute by Felipe, who fouled Klos in the penalty area and received a yellow card for his efforts, resulted in Andreas Voglsammer doubling Bielefeld’s lead. Hannover’s misery was compounded when Waldermar Anton was sent off in the 80th minute for a second yellow card after dragging back Klos as he looked to break away.
The defeat drops Hannover to 15th in the table, while Bielefeld run their unbeaten start in the league to 6 matches and move up to 3rd.
Heidenheim 3 – Holstein Kiel 0
André Schubert’s tenure as Holstein Kiel manager lasted 7 competitive matches, as he was sacked shortly after Die Störche suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of Frank Schmidt’s men at the Voith-Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Robert Leipertz opened the scoring for Heidenheim in the 3rd minute, when his long range shot was deflected past Kiel keeper Dominik Reimann. Striker Tim Kleindienst made it 2-0 when he scored from a tight angle in the 22nd minute.
Kiel never really looked much of a threat throughout the match and when Kleindienst headed in the third goal off a corner in the 55th minute, the result was all but settled.
The result was Heidenheim’s first league win in since Matchday 1, and Kiel’s third consecutive away defeat to begin the season. Heidenheim moves back into the top half of the table, while Kiel find themselves 16th with only 5 points through 6 matches.
Erzgebirge Aue 1 – Osnabrück 0
Despite a rather chaotic start to the season, in which they replaced their manager after Matchday 3, Erzgebirge picked up their third win of the season against visiting Osnabrück on Sunday afternoon, despite having to play the final 15 minutes with 10 men.
Erzgebirge keeper Martin Männel was sharp, producing a fine double save to keeper out first Marc Heider, then Anas Ouahim just seconds later. Lila-Weiß controlled most of the possession, but it was the East Germans who took the lead in the 40th minute.
Tom Baumgart smashed the ball past Osnabrück keeper Philipp Kühn, only for the goal to be initially disallowed for offside. A VAR check resulted in the initial call being overturned and Erzgebirge had the lead at the half.
Osnabrück pushed hard for an equalizer, but Erzgebirge were able to hold their own against nearly constant pressure. Their task was made more difficult when full-back Calogero Rizzuto was sent off with a second yellow card in the 75th minute, but Männel was up to the task and kept Osnabrück at bay to the final whistle.
The result sees Dirk Schuster’s charges leapfrog Osnabrück up to 5th in the table on 11 points.
Darmstadt 3 – Nürnberg 3
Der Club fell behind, came back, fell behind again, and finally came back again in a see-saw affair at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor in Darmstadt.
Striker Serdar Dursun gave the hosts the early lead, pushing a low cross over the goal line in the 6th minute. Robin Hack equalized for Nürnberg 3 minutes later, capping off an entertaining opening 10 minutes. Darmstadt looked to have gone ahead again in through Dursun the 31st minute, but VAR showed that full-back Patrick Herrmann was just a smidge offside in the build-up and the goal was disallowed.
Nürnberg attacker Michael Frey gave his side the lead just before halftime with a nice individual effort after a long-ball up from the back. Darmstadt kept pushing into the second half as they searched for another equalizer, but Nürnberg looked dangerous as well.
VAR again intervened in the 72nd minute, when Darmstadt put the ball in the net only for it to be flagged offside. On replay, it showed that Dario Đumić, who was onside, had fortunately poached the ball from teammate Tim Skarke, who was offside, so the goal was allowed. Dursun finally got his second of the match in the 82nd minute when he pressured Nürnberg center-back Patrick Erras into an errant back pass that keeper Christian Mathenia couldn’t get to, leaving Dursun to steal the ball and score easily.
But Hack then scored his second goal of the match just three minutes later, levelling the score at 3 apiece. Two set pieces in stoppage time gave Nürnberg a chance for a late winner, but they couldn’t capitalize and both sides were left to share points after a chaotic, but entertaining match.
Bochum 2 – Dynamo Dresden 2
Hosts Bochum came from two goals down to score a valuable point in new manager Thomas Reis’s first match as the squad’s new official manager.
Bochum looked the better side in the first half. Miloš Pantović nearly opening the scoring in the 10th minute, only to be denied by a fine save from Dresden keeper Kevin Broll. Dresden then thought they’d taken the lead in the 16th minute through Alexander Jeremejeff, but VAR rightly overturned it for offside. Dresden then picked up 3 yellow cards in the space of 7 minutes, but were able to keep Bochum at bay until halftime.
Jeremejeff opened the scoring less than a minute into the second half by tapping in a low cross from the left. Despite Bochum’s subsequent pressure, Dresden doubled their lead in the 62nd minute through substitute Moussa Koné.
But Bochum’s pressure finally paid off near the end. Danny Blum pegged one back in the 79th minute with a fine shot from range and then Anthony Losilla headed in the second six minutes later. Both sides upped the ante as the match moved into stoppage time, but despite chances at both ends, neither could find a winner.
Bochum remain in the relegation zone, while Dresden are not much further up the table in 12th.
St Pauli 2 – Hamburg 0
Derbies…
Kiezkicker scored the biggest upset of the young season as they defeated rivals HSV in the season’s first edition of the Hamburg derby.
Hamburg came into the derby on a 5 match winning streak across all competitions, but it was Jos Luhukay’s men, undoubtedly amped up by a raucous home crowd at the Millerntor-Stadion, who started the match better. Marvin Knoll forced a fine save from HSV keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes on 14 minutes and just 4 minutes later, a second Knoll header careened off the post. St Pauli striker Dimitris Diamantakos got to the rebound first and headed his side into the lead.
HSV grew into the match as the first half progressed with Kiezkicker keeper Robin Himmelmann saving from Sonny Kittel on 43 minutes, to preserve St Pauli’s lead at halftime.
The second half kicked off with an impressive pyro display from both sets of supporters, which will undoubtedly incur fines from the DfL. Both Himmelmann and Fernandes were called into action early in the second half, as both sides looked for a crucial goal. It came in the 63rd minute, through a quickly taken free kick from league assist leader Mats Møller Dæhli. Knoll got to the ball first, and his clever dummy was met by an unfortunate Rick van Drongelen, who unwittingly deflected the ball into his own net to double St Pauli’s lead.
Dieter Hecking threw on veterans Aaron Hunt and Martin Harnik in an attempt to turn the match around, but St Pauli remained in the ascendancy throughout the remainder of the match. Fernandes saved nicely from Diamantakos in the 81st minute and less than a minute later, Dæhli blasted a fierce shot against the post. Full-back Daniel Buballa came agonizingly close to a third, but was unable to score after being put through on goal just before the final whistle.
The derby win was St Pauli’s first since 2011, and only their third derby win since the advent of the Bundesliga in the 1960s. It’s also their first derby win at the Millerntor-Stadion in the Bundesliga era. Kiezkicker and their supporters should deservedly celebrate a historic victory.
Table
1. Stuttgart – 14 points
2. Hamburg – 13 points
3. Arminia Bielefeld – 12 points
4. Fürth – 11 points (+2 GD)
5. Erzgebirge Aue – 11 points (+2 GD)
Top Scorers
1t. Philipp Hofmann (Karlsruher) – 4 goals
1t. Sonny Kittel (Hamburg) – 4 goals
1t. Marcos Álvarez (Osnabrück) – 4 goals
1t. Fabian Klos (Arminia Bielefeld – 4 goals
Key Upcoming Matches – Matchday 6 (September 20 – September 22)
Fürth @ Stuttgart – Saturday 9/21, 7:00 am EST
St Pauli @ Osnabrück – Sunday 9/22, 7:30 am EST
Erzgebirge Aue @ Hamburg – Sunday 9/22, 7:30 am EST