Fortuna Düsseldorf is at least a little closer to the promotion ranks of the 2nd Bundesliga. The negative run of Jahn Regensburg in the 2nd Bundesliga continues, the relegation worries of coach Mersad Selimbegovic’s team are increasing.
After a lightning start, coach Daniel Thioune’s team won 3-1 (2-0) against Eintracht Braunschweig and reduced the gap to third-placed 1. FC Heidenheim to five points. However, the top 4 of the league is only in action at the weekend.
Striker Dawid Kownacki took the lead after just 48 seconds on Friday night. In addition, Christoph Klarer (25th) and Jona Niemiec (85th) scored in front of 24,127 spectators for Düsseldorf, who could afford a missed penalty by Rouwen Hennings (18th) and a curious own goal by Florian Kastenmeier (62nd). Braunschweig could slip to a relegation zone in the course of the 22nd matchday.
Kownacki made an impressive comeback after recovering from a torn muscle fibre, which only put him out of action for around two weeks. The Polish top scorer got the ball in the first attacking action in the penalty area, turned around Linus Gechter and converted it into the far corner.
As a result, Hennings should have increased from the point: The striker shot weakly and unplaced – Eintracht keeper Jasmin Fejzic was there. Thioune, who experienced his 100th game as second division coach on the touchline, was able to celebrate a little later thanks to Klarer’s header.
Düsseldorf then switched to administration mode, Braunschweig came out of the break better. F95 keeper Kastenmeier caught a corner kick from Robin Krauße, but probably fell behind the line with the ball – a millimeter decision: referee Sven Waschitzki-Günther (Bremen) gave the goal according to the video images.
2nd league: KSC defeated Jahn Regensburg
Regensburg lost 0:1 (0:1) at Karlsruher SC and has now been waiting for a win for nine league games. In this phase, Jahn only scored two out of a possible 27 points and could slip to the bottom of the table in the further course of the 22nd matchday.
Regensburg kept up well on Friday evening, but KSC scored the decisive goal: Mikkel Kaufmann (24th) benefited from a defensive mistake by the guests and put his team in the lead. At the other end, Sarpreet Singh (36′) almost equalized, but his impressive long-range shot only hit the crossbar.
“The disappointment is huge, we invest a lot, but in the end we make one mistake too many,” said Regensburg’s managing director Tobias Werner Sky: “We still have the opportunity to get the momentum on our side and to come out of this series with a sense of achievement.”
Right from the start, the teams didn’t bother with cross passes, both looking for the direct path to the offensive. This resulted in a respectable game: Fabian Schleusener (2nd) and Sebastian Jung (12th) missed for KSC, then Andreas Albers forced KSC goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck to make a brilliant save (18th).
Even after the opening goal, the game remained open. Regensburg struggled and looked for gaps in KSC’s defence, but failed again and again at Gersbeck – or at the post, as with Singh’s shot in the 90th minute. This gave the guests the opportunity to counterattack.
