Dhe 1. FC Heidenheim has improved to third place in the table in the 2nd Bundesliga. The Baden-Württemberg team won the chasing duel against SC Paderborn 3-0 (1-0) and already have 27 points. With the win, FCH pushed past East Westphalia (26 points), who are fourth. Jan-Niklas Beste (35th) scored the opening goal for the hosts, Denis Thomalla (76th) and Beste again (90th + 1) increased in the final phase.
In the duel between the best defense in the second division and the supposedly best attack, Heidenheim’s defensive qualities prevailed. Paderborn had great difficulties setting accents on the offensive. There were many bad passes and little constructive action towards the opposing goal. The hosts, on the other hand, played less frills and more effectively. Again and again Paderborn were forced to lose the ball through aggressive pressing.
Düsseldorf winning streak
Fortuna Düsseldorf is also targeting promotion places again. After two defeats in the first half of October, the Rhinelanders achieved their third win in a row with a 1-0 (1-0) win over FC St. Pauli. Rouwen Hennings (22nd) scored the winning goal for Fortuna. Betim Fazliji saw the red card for the guests after a headbutt against Dawid Kownacki (58th).
Hennings, back in the starting XI for the first time since August 20, struck against his former club with a remarkable direct acceptance into the near corner – after a tee shot by goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier and a header extension by Kownacki. It was his eighth goal against his “old love”. Previously, St. Pauli had had the best chance to take the lead, but Jackson Irvine failed with a header at the brilliantly reacting Kastenmeier (12th). With the lead behind them, Fortuna got the game under control better, Hennings missed the great chance to make it 2-0 (40th) with an exemplary counterattack. After the break, St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj saved the second goal with his foot after a deflected shot by Kristoffer Peterson (52′).
While the Dusseldorfers moved up to one point to the relegation place, the situation for the Hamburgers is getting more and more serious after just one win in the past eleven games. The relegation zone is only one point away.
Karlsruhe descent
Meanwhile, the downward course of Karlsruher SC continues. The Badeners lost against Holstein Kiel 1:4 (0:2) and conceded their fourth defeat in a row. An own goal by Tim Breithaupt (16th) and a goal by Kwasi Okyere Wriedt (30th) gave the North Germans a half-time lead. Fabian Reese (67′) made it 3-0 after Marcel Franke’s shot was cleared off the line in the 56th minute. In the 72nd minute, Simone Rapp scored the consolation goal for the former Bundesliga club. Again Wriedt (90+2) restored the three-goal gap.
In the last five games, KSV Holstein, who improved to seventh place in the table with 23 points, achieved their third win.
