Terodde shoots S04 to the title
Werder is back in the Bundesliga, HSV is playing relegation
5/15/2022 5:24 p.m
Werder Bremen, together with FC Schalke, manages direct promotion back to the 1st division. Hamburger SV has to accept a setback, but turns the game around in Rostock. The club is now going into relegation against Hertha BSC. Darmstadt 98 tries, wins high – and still suffers in the end.
SV Werder Bremen – Jahn Regensburg 2: 0 (1: 0)
With a work win for promotion: Werder Bremen has returned to the Bundesliga after a year in the second division. Hugely supported by 41,000 spectators in the Weser Stadium, the Hanseatic League prevailed 2-0 (1-0) against Jahn Regensburg and thus claimed their direct promotion place. “The SVW is back,” chanted the audience after just one hour of play.
With his 19th goal of the season, Niclas Füllkrug laid the foundation for the deserved but rather lackluster success against the Oberpfalz team in the tenth minute. The goalscorer was successful with a placed, half-high shot. Five minutes after the restart, his strike partner Marvin Ducksch scored from close range, it was the 21st goal of the season.
However, the early lead gave the hosts little tailwind for the remainder of the first half. The team coached by Ole Werner was dominant, but rarely found a way through against the stable defense of the guests. The Werder coach repeatedly called on his protégés to take broader action, but most of the time the center of attack was sought.
In the case of sporadic counterattacks, Regensburg was not without danger. However, Bremen’s goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka was only seriously tested by one team-mate. Mitchell Weiser surprised the Czech keeper with a botched return in the 22nd minute that nearly resulted in an own goal.
Jahn coach Mersad Selimbegovic had traveled to the Hanseatic city with great goalkeeping concerns. Instead of Thorsten Kirschbaum, who had a cold, Alexander Weidinger stood between the posts. The 24-year-old is usually used in the second Regensburg team in the Oberliga Bayern.
The 2-0 gave the hosts the long-missed security in the actions. Regensburg began to resign, relief attacks hardly took place. And if they did, they remained harmless.
Hansa Rostock – Hamburger SV 2: 3 (1: 0)
Relegation achieved, the dream of promotion is alive: Thanks to a furious comeback victory, Hamburger SV has the long-awaited return to the Bundesliga more in sight than ever. Coach Tim Walter’s team won 3-2 (0-1) at Hansa Rostock and secured their fifth league win in a row with a spectacular second half – and thus the relegation games against Hertha BSC.
Four years after the first Bundesliga relegation in the club’s history, HSV, who had finished fourth in the last three second division seasons, can now hope for a return to the top flight of German football. The relegation first leg will take place in Berlin next Thursday, and the decision will be made on the following Monday (20.30/both Sky, Sat.1 and in the ntv.de live ticker) in Hamburg.
Of course, the HSV also tried a lot of drama in the last few meters of the hotly contested promotion race. Because a goal from Nico Neidhart (13th) put the Rothosen on the Baltic Sea a long way behind and there were already many indications of fourth place in a row before striker Robert Glatzel (50th), captain Sebastian Schonlau (75th) and Joker Mikkel Kaufmann (85th) turned the game around. Lukas Fröde’s goal (90+1) came too late for Hansa.
The North Germans were seven points behind third place five games before the end of the season, and no club in the second division had ever caught up on such a gap – by Sunday afternoon. In Rostock, the comfortable starting position with the relegation match ball initially had a paralyzing effect. While the former Bundesliga Dino went to work strangely cramped and unimaginative, Hansa dictated the pace and rhythm of the game.
The guests were lucky after just 77 seconds when a header from Rostock’s midfielder Lukas Fröde hit the crossbar. After the 0:1, which was preceded by a counterattack worth seeing by the lightning-fast Danylo Sikan, Svante Ingelsson (19th) and John Verhoek (33rd) could have even increased for snappy and quick-witted Rostockers.
And Hamburg? For a long time he didn’t think of much. Apart from a header from defender Mario Vuskovic, which swept just wide of the left post, and a shot from Sebastian Schonlau, which forced Hansa keeper Markus Kolke to intervene in the first half, there was nothing to be seen from the Walter team going forward.
The second half then began with a Hamburg drumbeat. After an exemplary Vuskovic cross, Glatzel hit his head. The HSV then made a lot of steam – and was rewarded. First Sonny Kittel failed after a great combination – then Schonlau and Kaufmann scored.
SV Darmstadt 98 – SC Paderborn 3:0 (3:0)
The dream of promotion has burst: Darmstadt 98 has to bury all hopes of a Bundesliga return after a heart-stopping final. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s team beat SC Paderborn 3-0 (3-0) on the last day of the second division, but were unlucky fourth due to the victories of the competition.
Tim Skarke (2nd) and Luca Pfeiffer (25th/37th) rewarded the lilies with their hits for an incredibly passionate performance. Due to the clear lead, eyes went to Rostock early on – but Hamburger SV later caused disillusionment among the Darmstadt team. Paderborn’s Marcin Cuni (79th) received a red card for foul play.
Darmstadt lost an even better starting position at Fortuna Düsseldorf (1:2) last week. The support in the stands was all the greater: after a march to the stadium at Böllenfalltor, the fans swore in their team with an impressive choreo.
From second to fourth place, anything was possible before kick-off. Correspondingly, Darmstadt started furiously: Skarke set the first exclamation point early on in the fight for promotion. Lieberknecht didn’t want to constantly find out about the other results, but the HSV deficit caused a lot of celebration in the stands.
In front of the eyes of Hertha coach Felix Magath, the lilies continued undeterred. Phillip Tietz (19th) initially missed the second goal, but a little later Pfeiffer extended the lead with a brace. In addition, the SVD could rely on goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen.
After the break, Darmstadt continued to push forward in front of 13,710 fans. While the nervousness increased in the stands after Hamburg’s equalizer in Rostock, Lieberknecht’s eleven with the lead in their backs didn’t let anything burn. Pfeiffer’s third goal (69th) was also taken back because of an offside position after video evidence.
1. FC Nuremberg – FC Schalke 04 1: 2 (0: 1)
Schalke 04 returns to the Bundesliga as second division champions for the third time. A week after the emotional promotion party in the home arena, the Royal Blues ended their season in the lower house with a 2-1 (1-0) win at 1. FC Nürnberg and, like in 1982 and 1991, took first place in the final table. The Gelsenkirchen team had already made the immediate return with a 3-2 win against FC St. Pauli seven days earlier.
After the pitch storm and the subsequent night of partying a week ago, Schalke’s official promotion celebrations will take place on Monday (6 p.m.) on Rudi-Assauer-Platz in front of the arena. For the fourth time Simon Terodde snatched the title as top scorer. With his 30th goal of the season (88th), the 34-year-old decided the game. The second division record shooter broke the 30 mark for the first time in his career.
Rodrigo Zalazar, already celebrated as the winning goal scorer against St. Pauli, put Schalke ahead with a dream goal from his own half (15th): The Uruguayan scored from 58 meters. Lukas Schlemmer (86th). The 50,000 spectators in the Max Morlock Stadium, which was sold out for the first time in three years, extensively celebrated the friendship between the two old masters.