Cup horror leaves points behind
Schalke storms out of the bottom of the table with a late victory
November 4, 2023, 3:04 p.m
Two old champions meet in the 2nd Bundesliga – and in the end FC Schalke 04 actually wins against 1. FC Nürnberg, fighting their way out of the bottom of the table. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, who were successful in the cup during the week, are dropping points – as is Holstein Kiel.
1. FC Kaiserslautern – SpVgg Greuther Fürth 0:2 (0:1)
Cup horror 1. FC Kaiserslautern lost important points in the promotion race in the 2nd Bundesliga against SpVgg Greuther Fürth. On the twelfth matchday, the Red Devils lost 0:2 (0:1) to the cloverleaf. It was the second home defeat of the season for FCK. Gideon Jung (22nd) gave the Franconians the lead with a header in front of 40,302 fans, Julian Green (54th, penalty kick) increased it to 2-0. This was preceded by a foul by goalkeeper Julian Krahl on Fürth’s captain Branimir Hrgota. Lautern’s Boris Tomiak was shown the red card after an assault (69′). With 18 points, the Red Devils, who remained without a win in the league for the third time in a row, are in eighth place. Fürth passed the Palatinate.
During the week, the Palatinate team eliminated the Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln (3:2) in the DFB Cup, while the cloverleaf lost to the fourth division club FC Homburg (1:2). However, the Lauterers didn’t seem as lively and strong on the Betzenberg as they did last time.
Armindo Sieb had the first good opportunity for Fürth in the second minute. But he failed due to the well-reacting goalkeeper Krahl, who cleared the ball with his foot. Sieb (8th) also put a ball on the side net. The Red Devils had a hard time getting going and there were a lot of bad passes in the build-up to the game. The visitors’ defense was rarely posed with problems.
Only after a good half hour did the FCK’s actions become a little more purposeful. Terrence Boyd (38th) narrowly missed the Fürth goal. At the beginning of the second half, the hosts were initially in control, but the penalty and the goal to make it 2-0 seemed like a cold shower.
1. FC Nuremberg – FC Schalke 04 1:2 (0:1)
Schalke 04 has shown another sign of life in the relegation battle. The struggling relegated team won the duel between the old champions at 1. FC Nürnberg 2:1 (1:0) and thus leaves the relegation place. For the new coach Karel Geraerts it was the second win in the fourth competitive game.
Dominick Drexler took the lead for the Royal Blues (35th). Florian Flick equalized in front of 47,000 spectators in the sold-out Max Morlock Stadium (47th). Danny Latza scored the late winning goal for S04 (89th). It was a setback for 1. FCN, who had reached the cup round of 16 during the week.
Four days after the cup knockout in St. Pauli, Schalke got off to a better start. Lino Tempelmann hit the outside post while standing alone (10th), shortly afterwards Henning Matriciani was denied by Christian Mathenia, who reacted strongly. As a result, an intense game developed with advantages for the guests. The lead was therefore deserved. The club was even lucky that Kenan Karaman, who prepared the 1-0, hit the post 76 seconds later. Nuremberg, on the other hand, was unable to get into the spotlight offensively before the break.
FCN coach Cristian Fiel reacted and brought in cup hero Felix Lohkemper and Mats Möller Dähli – two changes that quickly brought new energy: first the equalizer was achieved, seconds later Marcin Kaminski saved from Benjamin Goller on the line. The FCN remained more dangerous from then on, Schalke scored the goal in a hectic final phase.
VfL Osnabrück – Holstein Kiel 1:1 (0:0)
Holstein Kiel surprisingly missed out on a direct promotion spot. They played 1:1 (0:0) at penultimate Osnabrück and are now fourth with 20 points. Newly promoted Osnabrück took the lead through Dave Gnaase (55th) and ended the series of two games without a goal of their own. Substitute Benedikt Pichler scored the late equalizer (90+4). Tobias Schweinsteiger’s team is still waiting for their second home win.
The Kiel team suffered a debilitating 3-4 cup defeat on penalties against 1. FC Magdeburg on Wednesday. Before the break there was a goal threat from Shuto Machino (8th) and Steven Skrzybski (32nd), but they were denied by VfL goalkeeper Lennart Grill.
The Osnabrück team, cheered on by 15,000 spectators, tried hard, Niklas Wiemann (26th) and captain Timo Beermann (49th) had a dangerous header after a corner. Kiel’s Shuto Machino (47th) missed the empty goal, Gnaase scored shortly afterwards (55th). The guests then took control of the game and the Osnabrück defense did not hold out until the end.