2. Bundesliga Update - Matchday 2

2 matchdays into the new season and only one squad has taken all 6 available points. Conversely, three sides have yet to notch a single point. Here are the results from Matchday 2:

Osnabrück 2 – Hannover 1 (Friday, September 25 – Stadion an der Bremer Brücke)

In Matchday 1, Lila-Weiß gave new manager Marco Grote his first point in charge. In Matchday 2, they gave him his first win in their home opener against Hannover.

New striker Christian Santos has started off well for Osnabrück and he notched his second goal in as many matches in the 33^rd minute. VAR determined that Hannover center-back Marcel Franke fouled Osnabrück’s Etienne Amenyido in the box as they both went for a loose ball. Santos stepped up and gave keeper Michael Esser no chance.

Santos then doubled his tally on the day by heading in a corner just after halftime. Die Roten couldn’t muster much going forward against a solid Lila-Weiß defense and a stoppage time goal from striker Marvin Ducksch made the score appear closer than it actually was.

Erzgebirge 1 – Greuther Fürth 1 (Friday, September 25 – Erzgebirgsstadion)

Shared points were the order of the evening as Erzgebirge and Fürth fought a largely defensive battle for 90 minutes.

Sebastian Ernst scored the opener for Kleeblätter in the 6^th minute after good work from teammate Håvard Nielsen. Erzgebirge’s Florian Krüger opened his season account in the 23^rd minute to level things.

From then on, both sides settled into a rather defensive shape and there were relatively few chances in the remaining minutes. Despite attempting 14 shots in all, Ernst’s goal would prove to be Fürth’s only shot on target in the 90 minutes. Erzgebirge only managed one better and both sides had to be satisfied with a draw.

Darmstadt 0 –Regensburg 0 (Saturday, September 26 – Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor)

I hate nil-nil draws.

Regensburg keeper Alexander Meyer was the man of the match, as he made several impressive saves to keep out an attacking-minded Darmstadt side for the entirety of the 90 minutes.

Try as they might, neither Serdar Dursun nor Marvin Mehlem could put the ball past Meyer and Regensburg held on to secure a point after being outplayed for the majority of the match.

Düsseldorf 1 – Würzburger 0 (Saturday, September 26 – Merkur Spiel-Arena)

It took over 80 minutes, but Düsseldorf finally found a way past a determined Würzburger side and held on to take all 3 points.

Düsseldorf’s Florian Kastenmeier and Würzburger’s Fabian Giefer traded saves throughout the match, until Giefer spilled an 82^nd minute effort from Rouwen Hennings and substitute Dawid Kownacki was in the right place at the right time to tuck in the rebound.

Würzburger had a late chance to equalize when Düsseldorf center-back André Hoffmann brought down substitute Vladimir Nikolov in the box in stoppage time, but Kastenemeier saved Robert Herrmann’s spot kick to preserve the lead and ultimately the win.

Braunschweig 0 – Holstein Kiel 0 (Saturday, September 26 – Eintracht-Stadion)

Yep. Still hate nil-nil draws.

Kiel were the better side on the day, but Braunschweig’s Felix Dornebusch saved all 3 of Die Störche’s shots on target. They managed to beat him once, but the crossbar rejected Fabian Reese’s shot from distance.

Braunschweig did better in the second half, but did little to trouble Kiel keeper Ioannis Gelios. Ultimately, it ended scoreless, giving Braunschweig their first points on the season.

Bochum 1 – Karlsruher 0 (Sunday, September 27 – Wildparkstadion)

Ten-man Bochum managed to hang on to the very end against Karlsruher.

An end-to-end first 15 minutes culminated with Bochum’s Simon Zoller scoring for the second time in two matches. Silvère Ganvoula M’boussy headed a goal kick forward and Zoller spotted keeper Marius Gersbeck off his line and cheekily flicked the ball over him and into the net.

KSC were gifted a man advantage on 68 minutes when Bochum’s Gerrit Holtmann was bizarrely sent off with two yellow cards after picking a fight with the official as he was about to be taken off for a substitute. But despite their advantage, Karlsruher couldn’t find a way past Manuel Riemann and Bochum just managed to hang on for the win.

St Pauli 4 – Heidenheim 2 (Sunday, September 27 – Millerntor-Stadion)

It was a banner home opener for Kiezkicker as they thoroughly demolished Heidenheim and gave Timo Schultz his first win in charge.

Daniel-Kofi Kyereh opened the scoring with 26^th minute screamer from outside the box. Heidenheim’s Patrick Schmidt then turned a cross from St Pauli’s Marvin Knoll into his own net for a 2-0 lead on 34 minutes. Jannes Luca Wieckhoff and Max Dittgen each nabbed a goal on the other side of halftime to stretch the lead to 4 and effectively put the match to bed.

Substitutes Christian Kühlwetter and Tobias Mohr managed to get Heidenheim on the score sheet late, but the visitors could do nothing more and St Pauli took a deserved in.

Nürnberg 1 – Sandhausen 0 (Sunday, September 27 – Max-Morlock-Stadion)

Nürnberg left it late, but finally managed to put one past Sandhausen keeper Martin Fraisl to take their first win of the season.

Sandhausen’s best chance on the day came in the second half, when Daniel Keita-Ruel beat keeper Christian Mathenia, only to see his shot bounce off the post. Der Club meanwhile put an impressive 11 shots on target in 90 minutes, but Fraisl stood on his head and kept everything out until the 77^th minute.

Johannes Geis’s corner found an unmarked Lukas Mühl, who headed across the keeper and the ball just managed to sneak in at the far post. Robert Klauß gets his first win as Nürnberg manager.

Hamburg 4 – Paderborn 3 (Monday, September 28 – Benteler-Arena)

Simon Terodde became the 2. Bundesliga’s all-time leading goal scorer and a late penalty gave Hamburg their second win on the season and the lead in the standings.

Manuel Wintzheimer gave HSV the lead in the 14^th minute and Terodde doubled it with a header just ten minutes later. But Paderborn did not go quietly into the night and responded in kind. Dennis Srbeny scored from the penalty spot after Hamburg’s Tim Leibold brought down Dortmund loanee Chris Führich in the box. Führich then found the back of the net himself not once, but twice, in two minutes to give Paderborn the lead!

All before the halftime whistle.

Wintzheimer set up Terodde for Hamburg’s third goal in the 56^th minute. The goal was Terodde’s 122^nd in the 2. Bundesliga, making him the division’s all-time leading goal scorer.

In the 82^nd minute, Paderborn’s Sebastian Vasiliadis caught the HSV winger late in the box and gave away a penalty. Substitute Aaron Hunt buried the spot kick to give Hamburg a lead they would not relinquish.