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Matchday 25 featured more postponements and some spectacular performances. Here are the results:
Hamburg 2 – Bochum 0 (Friday, March 12 – Vonovia Ruhrstadion)
Hamburg jumped back into contention for the league title with an away win over 10-man Bochum.
The hosts were the hot side going into the weekend’s topspiel and they looked the more confident side early on. But they failed to create many solid chances and this allowed HSV to grab the lead against the run of play on 28 minutes. Aaron Hunt’s free kick made its way all the way over to midfielder Amadou Onana, who stuck the ball past keeper Manuel Riemann to put the visitors ahead.
Bochum’s task got much harder when Danny Blum inexplicably fouled goal scorer Onana from behind in the middle of the park and was given a straight red card for his trouble. This left Bochum to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
The match turned feisty after this, with more fouls and cards. Bochum’s frustration became apparent as Hamburg didn’t do much to threaten them in attack, but at the same time, the hosts were unable to mount anything concrete themselves. Thus, when HSV substitute Khaled Narey scored on the counter in second half stoppage time, the result was sealed.
The win moves Hamburg to within 2 points of Bochum at the top of the table.
Darmstadt 4 – Erzgebirge Aue 1 (Saturday, March 13 – Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor)
Darmstadt put Erzgebirge to the sword in dominating fashion.
Serdar Dursun continued his recent hot streak for Darmstadt by putting them in front after just 4 minutes. Good work from midfielder Nicolai Rapp saw him win the ball in the Erzgebirge half and Mathias Honsak’s cross put the ball on a plate for Dursun to sweep home.
Erzgebirge had three good chances to level things over the next 20 minutes, but couldn’t finish any of them. This gave Dursun the opportunity to double his side’s lead on 27 minutes, the striker heading home after being somehow left unmarked on a free kick. Darmstadt were then content to let Erzgebirge have the majority of possession and for once, their defense held up.
Substitute Louis Samson was sent off on 59 minutes with a second yellow card, dropping Erzgebirge down to 10-men, and Dursun completed his hat-trick on 67 minutes, firing the ball into the bottom corner from outside the box. A 78th minute handball by Darmstadt’s Victor Pálsson allowed Dimitrij Nazarov to pull one goal back for Erzgebirge from the spot, but Honsak restored the three goal cushion on the break near the end, capping a deserved win for the hosts.
Sandhausen 0 – Düsseldorf 0 (Saturday, March 13 – BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald)
A stubborn Sandhausen side managed to hold Düsseldorf to a scoreless draw.
The hosts failed to put a single shot on target in the whole 90 minutes, which sums up their part in this match nicely. Düsseldorf created all the good chances, but they couldn’t get the ball past keeper Stefanos Kapino, who registered 9 saves on the day.
The point was valuable for Sandhausen, but they finish Matchday 25 still in the relegation zone in 17th.
Nürnberg 1 – Osnabrück 1 (Sunday, March 14 – Max-Morlock-Stadion)
Osnabrück registered their first point since January against Nürnberg.
Neither side managed to put the ball on target in the first half, although Sebastian Kerk went close for Lila-Weiß on 9 minutes with a long-range shot that flashed just past the left hand post. Nürnberg’s Tim Latteier finally put the ball on target on 55 minutes, but couldn’t beat keeper Philip Kühn.
Manuel Schäffler finally broke the deadlock on 61 minutes, burying a header from a Johannes Geis corner. But Osnabrück substitute Marc Heider equalized in the 73rd minute by turning in a Kerk cross. Nürnberg almost won it at the death, but Kühn was able to stop Hanno Behrens’ shot before it reached the bottom corner.
Karlsruher 0 – Braunschweig 0 (Sunday, March 14 – Wildparkstadion)
The weekend’s second scoreless draw was more lively, but still not a great watch.
Karlsruher were the better side in the first half, but neither Marvin Wanitzek nor Kyoung Rok Choi could best Braunschweig keeper Jasmin Fejzić. The Bosnian kept his side in the match and Braunschweig came out looking better in the second half.
Dominik Wydra and Fabio Kaufmann put shots on target around the hour mark, but keeper Marius Gersbeck stood in the way. A late VAR check for a possible Karlsruher penalty resulted in no spot kick, and thus, it ended nil-nil, which Braunschweig will undoubtedly appreciate more.
Paderborn 2 – St Pauli 0 (Monday, March 15 – Millerntor-Stadion)
Paderborn snapped a three match winless run at the expense of St Pauli.
Dortmund II loanee Chris Führich put the visitors ahead after just 7 minutes, capping off a fast break by beating keeper Dejan Stojanović from the center of the box. Paderborn were then initially awarded a penalty in the 27th minute for a foul on Sven Michel, but VAR showed that Michel was offside when the ball was played in to him, so the call was rescinded.
Leart Paqarada came close to an equalizer for Kiezkicker on 40 minutes, but keeper Leopold Zingerle managed to tip it over the bar. Another top class save on a Rodrigo Zalazar free kick 5 minutes later, kept Paderborn ahead at the break.
Despite St Pauli’s best efforts, Paderborn not only held their lead, but extended it on 69 minutes. Center-back Sebastian Schonlau got his head to Maximilian Thalhammer’s corner and a wicked bounce took it past Stojanović and in for 2-0. Thus, St Pauli’s unbeaten run of 6 league matches came to an end.
Greuther Fürth 2 – Regensburg 1 (Wednesday, March 17 – Jahnstadion Regensburg)
A deserved away win over Regensburg helped Fürth keep pace with the top of the table.
Fürth’s Timothy Tillman forced a save in the opening 10 minutes and teammate Branimir Hrgota put them ahead on 13 minutes with a left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Hrgota and Sebastian Ernst had chances saved later in the first half as Kleeblätter went into the half on top.
Hrgota doubled their advantage in the 64th minute, finishing off a fast break by beating keeper Alexander Meyer to his left. Jann-Christopher George pulled one back for Regensburg 3 minutes later, but despite a late chance by substitute Charalambos Makridis, the hosts were unable to find a second goal, which gave Fürth the win.
Table
1. Bochum – 48 points
2. Hamburg – 46 points (+21 GD)
3. Fürth – 46 points (+18 GD)
4. Kiel – 46 points (+16 GD)*
…
15. Braunschweig – 25 points
16. Osnabrück – 23 points*
17. Sandhausen – 22 points
18. Würzburger – 15 points*
Top Scorers
1. Simon Terodde (Hamburg) – 20 goals
2. Serdar Dursun (Darmstadt) – 15 goals
3. Christian Kühlwetter (Heidenheim) – 13 goals
*Osnabrück, Kiel & Würzburger have each played only 24 matches due to COVID-19 related postponements.