Ingolstadt in relegation – two minutes in July – sport

After the final whistle, FC Ingolstadt rose for a short time – then Würzburg still hits and sends the FCI into the relegation against Nuremberg. The miracle at TSV 1860 Munich does not materialize.

Such a jubilation, which ideally comes in waves after the final whistle of a season with successful performance. And so the Ingolstadt team cheered only briefly after their victory in the third division at TSV 1860 Munich. They were too interested in the outcome of the game in Würzburg. Only then would they be really happy, the Würzburg kickers were 1: 2 behind, FC Ingolstadt would have made it back to the Bundesliga with this result. But the game was still going on – and so the mood in the Grünwald stadium arose like in 2001 for the short-term championship title of FC Schalke 04 in the Park Stadium. Like the Schalke once, the Ingolstadt residents had reached their destination at this moment. But that meant nothing, because now Ingolstadt was experiencing his Schalke moment, four minutes in May this time became two minutes in June.

Instead of a screen in the stadium, all FCI substitutes looked at the cell phones, the large and injured Stefan Kutschke was standing behind the smaller colleagues. But then Kutschke turned away, looked depressed – and scrolled over his own smartphone. What happened? The customer spread quickly: Penalty for Würzburg. Goal for Wuerzburg. Five minutes later: end, 2-2 in Würzburg. The second wave of jubilation in Ingolstadt subsided before it could even start. Like FC Schalke from Bayern Munich, they had been overtaken in injury time by a draw in another place in the table. Coach Tomas Oral also rated the penalty as “no clear penalty” – from a distance, mind you.

The FCI has to be fourth in the table (champions FC Bayern II may not rise) after all two games in the fight for a second division place. After the 2: 0 (0: 0) at TSV 1860 on Tuesday and Saturday in the relegation against 1. FC Nürnberg. “The team showed a really cool face,” said Oral anyway. “We would have absolutely deserved to go straight up, but God wants us to be detained again and I’m glad that we still have the situation.” Last year he failed with the team in the second division relegation at SV Wehen Wiesbaden and dismounted – now he could move up to league two again. “We are tried and tested for relegation as an association and of course we want to use this advantage.”

1860 wants to defend with all his might – and forgets to play football

His counterpart Michael Köllner now needs “a few days of rest” from this long, exhausting season, he said. Unlike Oral, he built on a chain of five on Saturday and wanted to try to stop the Ingolstadt storm. The sixties could still have reached the relegation place with a win, “we still believe in the incredible, of course,” said stadium spokesman Stefan Schneider. The lions would then have been dependent on other results (which did not occur because Duisburg won 4-0). Köllner Aaron Berzel, Felix Weber and Dennis Erdmann grouped between the two full-backs Phillipp Steinhart and Marius Willsch. So five men to stop the force of Stefan Kutschke, Fatih Kaya, Maximilian Beister and Caniggia Elva. This is exactly how the promoted Eintracht Braunschweig (0: 0), the relegated Preußen Münster (0: 0) and 1. FC Magdeburg (2: 0) were successful against FC Ingolstadt. However, Köllner did without his own force in midfield: He left Stefan Lex and Efkan Bekiroglu outside for the time being.

As a result, the sixties actually played little – the FCI was allowed to freely combine in return. Beister appeared dangerously in the penalty area in the second minute, further chances followed. Defending was obviously difficult for the lions. “We were simply too passive,” said Günther Gorenzel during the break on the BR microphone. After conceding two goals in Großaspach, the lions wanted to stand more securely, but this became a passive attitude. In the course of the second half Bekiroglu and Lex consequently came for Erdmann and Weber, the chain of five was broken again after 60 minutes – also because the Ingolstadt-based company already led through the brilliant long-range shot of an ex-lion.

Maximilian Beister hit a cross pass from Kaya from 25 meters into the top left corner (50th) and cheered extensively in front of the west curve. Everything should dissolve in these minutes, the diffuse promotion race of the third division should present results. But it was already clear to everyone that this would not be easy in this tight league. And so it remained diffuse until the end. From 3:15 p.m. the time had come: FC Ingolstadt 04 seemed to have risen when Halle suddenly led 2-1 in Würzburg.

The sixties pushed again after conceding the goal, but they really didn’t want to succeed – also because Ingolstadt’s substitute goalkeeper Marco Knaller, selected for the remaining season as number one, shot from Marius Willsch (61.) and ex-Ingolstadt Stefan Lex from the Penalty area kept splendid (67th). After Herbert Paul was the last man to see the red card after a foul on Dennis Eckert Ayensa, who came for Kutschke after half an hour, the Lions seemed to lack the air for a gripping final (80th). Eckert Ayensa finally scored the 2-0 after a great solo by Maximilian Thalhammer (82nd).

“Ingolstadt is the really deserved winner of the game today,” said Köllner. But then he already knew: The FCI has not yet climbed. The Kickers equalized at 3:53 p.m. and sent Ingolstadt into the season extension. “We have done everything we can in the past four or five months to be in great physical and mental shape. Let’s see what happens,” said Oral. At best, the second wave of jubilation should only be postponed, not canceled.