The Würzburger Kickers will play in the second division in the future. Photo: Roland Weihrauch
(Photo: dpa)
The third in the table of the 3rd league made it 2:1 The third-placed in the 3rd division made the promotion perfect with the 2:1 (1:1) in the relegation second leg at MSV Duisburg and thus made the direct march from the regional league to the 2nd division. “We knew we had what it took. But the fact that we’ve made it now is simply indescribable,” said defender Royal-Dominique Fennel. “After the 0:1 we had to collect ourselves, but with the equalization we were back in the race.”
In front of 29,500 spectators in the sold-out Schauinsland Arena, Elia Soriano (37′) and Rico Benatelli (90’+2′) scored the goals for coach Bernd Hollerbach’s team. An own goal by Clemens Schoppenhauer gave MSV the opening goal (33rd). Duisburg lost the first leg last Friday 2-0. “The equalizer really got us, after that we lost our concept,” said MSV coach Ilja Gruew. “No one believed that we would even have been relegated.”
This means that Duisburg, a founding member of the Bundesliga, falls back into third division for the third time after 1986 and 2013. The Kickers, on the other hand, are already the sixth third division club to have beaten second division clubs in eight relegation games so far. Of the higher-ranking teams, only 1860 Munich (2015) and Dynamo Dresden (2013) got the upper hand.
Basketball superstar Dirk Nowitzki also celebrated the rise. The native of Würzburg tweeted after the final whistle: “Never again 3rd league… madness”. Own goal scorer Schoppenhauer was also overjoyed: “We thanked our fans extensively. It’s great how many followers have supported us.”
In addition to goalkeeper Michael Ratajczak, Duisburg coach Gruew also had to do without his suspended captain Branimir Bajic, but had striker Victor Obinna back after recovering from a torn muscle fibre. Overall, the Duisburg coach changed to three positions. Marco Haller replaced Nejmeddin Daghfous in the starting lineup for the Würzburg team.
In front of a large crowd at the Wedau, the hosts set the tone from the start, but found it difficult against the well-organized defensive ranks of the Franconians. The Würzburg team, who had not been defeated in 13 games, limited themselves to their excellent defensive work and tried to provide relief with occasional counterattacks. MSV striker Kingsley Onuegbu had the best chance to open the scoring in the 18th minute, but the Nigerian’s shot went wide from close range.
An own goal by Schoppenhauer after a Giorgi Tschanturia cross helped Duisburg take a 1-0 lead, which didn’t last long. Only four minutes later, Soriano scored the important equalizer for the visitors. After Würzburg’s away goal, the hosts needed a 4-1 win. Although the MSV attackers Obinna and Onuegbu still caused danger in some scenes, the compact and sovereign defense of the Würzburg team did not allow any more goals. In the final phase, Obinna saw the red card for complaining (89th). Benatelli scored for Würzburg’s 2-1 win.
Kader MSV Duisburg
Squad Wuerzburger Kickers
