Sports Second League
HSV advances to the relegation place, Kiel shows impressive performance
As of: 3:10 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
HSV is at least keeping the hope of reaching relegation alive again. With a home win the team moves up to third place. Holstein Kiel is clearly heading towards direct promotion.
Hamburger SV has returned to the promotion relegation ranking. On Saturday, the second division soccer team defeated relegation candidate 1. FC Kaiserslautern in a respectable game 2-1 (1-1). Fortuna Düsseldorf can displace HSV again on Sunday.
Four days after the Palatinate reached the final of the DFB Cup, Laszlo Benes (34th minute) and Lukasz Poreba (60th) thwarted another celebratory atmosphere at FCK. Ragnar Ache (45th + 1) had meanwhile scored 1-1 in front of 57,000 spectators.
FCK coach Friedhelm Funkel relied on a completely new offensive compared to the 2-0 win in the semi-final against third division team 1. FC Saarbrücken on Tuesday. Ex-HSV professional Aaron Opoku and top scorer Ache repeatedly posed major problems for the hosts’ defense. And that despite the fact that HSV managed to share more of the game but wasn’t effective enough up front.
Committed: Hamburg coach Steffen Baumgart
Source: dpa/Marcus Brandt
The lively Benes was the most dangerous HSV player in front of the guests’ goal. In addition to his opening goal, the Slovakian also missed the post twice (32nd/49th). Shortly after two strong saves from HSV goalkeeper Matheo Raab, Poreba benefited from chaos in the guests’ penalty area and put the ball in the goal. The hit also stood up to scrutiny by the video referee.
1. FC Nuremberg – Holstein Kiel 0:4 (0:3)
After a lightning dismissal against Joseph Hungbo from 1. FC Nürnberg, Holstein Kiel has continued its march towards the Bundesliga. Thanks to 78 minutes of superiority, coach Marcel Rapp’s team celebrated their fourth clean sheet victory in a row with a 4-0 (3-0) victory in Franconia. This means that the Kiel team, second in the table, is already seven points ahead of third place in the relegation zone six game days before the end of the season.
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In front of 31,961 spectators, English right winger Hungbo was back in Nuremberg’s starting line-up for the first time since the beginning of August – but not for long. After a yellow card in the 5th minute, he received his second yellow card just seven minutes later and had to leave the pitch early. Hungbo buried his face in his jersey as he walked into the catacombs, deeply disappointed.
The Kiel team exploited their superiority mercilessly and didn’t give the hosts any room to breathe in the first half. After a corner from Philipp Sander, Marko Ivezic (20th) headed in to take the lead. A careless throw-in from Jan Gyamerah gave Shuto Machino (34′) the opportunity to make it 2-0. Shortly before the break, Alexander Bernhardsson (43′) made everything clear with a wonderful flick.
The people of Kiel then switched to administration mode. Lukas Schmelzer (50th) even kept Holstein keeper Timon Weiner busy with his shot. Substitute Nicolai Remberg from Kiel energetically took the ball from Erik Wekesser and made it 4-0 (79th).
SV Elversberg – 1. FC Magdeburg 0:0
1. FC Magdeburg is slipping deeper and deeper into the relegation battle. Christian Titz’s team couldn’t get beyond a 0-0 draw at newly promoted SV Elversberg and have been waiting for a goal for five league games.
In front of around 8,864 spectators, Elversberg initially had a slight increase in chances, but it was not enough to win against the guests who were stronger after the change. SVE hasn’t scored a goal in the last three games.
Magdeburg is still in twelfth place with 32 points, but the lead over the relegation place is only two points. FC Schalke 04 and Eintracht Braunschweig could overtake Titz’s team as early as Sunday. Elversberg has a slightly larger cushion with 36 points, but is not yet through, especially given their own low form.
The duel offered few highlights, especially before the break. Guest goalkeeper Dominik Reimann was named player of the day, as he thwarted several of Saarland’s great chances. Magdeburg became stronger with the addition of offensive player Tatsuya Ito at the break and created their own opportunities, but it was not enough to score their first goal since February 24th.
