Relegation thriller ends dramatically
“Eternal” second division team HSV loses six-goal spectacle
November 11, 2023, 3:17 p.m
Is Hamburger SV doomed to remain in the Second Bundesliga forever? The away game in Kiel at least makes the pessimists cheer because the storks get the points. Meanwhile, Nuremberg completely dismantles SC Paderborn and the relegation hit in Braunschweig ends with a late winning goal.
Holstein Kiel – Hamburgers SV 4:2 (1:0)
Hamburger SV has clearly missed the connection to the top of the table in the 2nd Bundesliga. In the northern duel near Holstein Kiel, the promotion candidate, who is now hoping to return to the upper house for the sixth year in a row, lost 2:4 (0:1) and suffered their third away defeat this season. Steven Skrzybski (20th) with a penalty kick, Benedikt Pichler (57th), Finn Porath (83rd) and Jonas Sterner (88th) scored for Kiel. Robert Glatzel (71st/80th) scored the goals to equalize.
With a win, HSV would have caught up with city rivals FC St. Pauli on points. Despite the defeat, coach Tim Walter’s team remains in second place in the table, at least until Sunday. The Kiel team moved up to third place for the time being, one point less than HSV.
In an initially even encounter, Holstein relied on high pressing and was rewarded early for the effort put in. HSV defender Miro Muheim brought down Lewis Holtby in the penalty area and Skrzybski converted the penalty. A header from Guilherme Ramos over the goal was Hamburg’s best chance of the first half (40th).
Kiel also had a lot of power to score in the second half. Hamburg appeared vulnerable on defense. Former HSV professional Holtby served Pichler with a through ball, who scored Kiel’s second goal. But Kiel’s defense also appeared vulnerable. Glatzel used this twice. Porath and Sterner then made the Kiel fans cheer.
SC Paderborn – 1. FC Nuremberg 1:3 (0:3)
1. FC Nürnberg has returned to the road to success and has its sights set on the promotion places. A week after the last-minute home defeat against Schalke 04, the club celebrated a deserved 3-1 (3-0) win at SC Paderborn. As currently sixth in the table, FCN is only two points away from the promotion relegation place.
After the red card against Jens Castrop (60th minute/foul), the guests had to make do with ten players for a long time. Before that, Castrop had laid the foundation for victory, taking the lead in the 8th minute. Kanji Okunuki (39th) and Lukas Schmelzer (42nd) made the decision before the break. The Paderborn team, who were inferior to their opponents in almost every aspect in the first half, only managed to score late through Adriano Grimaldo.
It was only after Castrop was sent off that Paderborn were superior and pushed for an equalizer. But coach Lukas Kwasniok’s team, which did not have striker Max Kruse in the squad, lacked ideas, accuracy and, at times, the necessary bit of luck in the offensive game.
Eintracht Braunschweig – VfL Osnabrück 3:2 (1:1)
Eintracht Braunschweig won a thrilling basement duel with a goal in stoppage time. The previous bottom of the table beat the new bottom team VfL Osnabrück on Saturday late, but deservedly, 3:2 (1:1). Ermin Bicakcic only scored the winning goal in front of 20,378 spectators in the eighth minute of stoppage time – and the goal was checked by the video assistant for several minutes afterwards. In the end, Daniel Scherning became the third Braunschweig coach this season to celebrate a successful debut – against his former club Osnabrück of all places.
After a yellow-red card for Michael Cuisance (60th minute), Eintracht played in the majority for more than half an hour and still had to tremble for a long time. Goals from Johan Gomez (11th) and Anton Donkor (61st) gave the much more dangerous hosts a deserved lead twice. But VfL took advantage of their only two chances to score twice in this game with a penalty kick, thanks to Cuisance (45th + 1/foul penalty) and Erik Engelhardt (87th/hand penalty) to luckily equalize.
Despite all the drama, the course of the game also showed how weak the two Lower Saxony rivals currently are. After the early lead, the Braunschweig team retreated a long way. But the completely harmless VfL neither knew what to do with the resulting possession of the ball, nor did Eintracht take advantage of their good counterattack opportunities. In the second half, the Braunschweig team became too passive again after the 2-1 lead.