Dhe FC Ingolstadt overcame its relegation trauma with trembling tremors and returned to the second Bundesliga after two years. In 2019 and 2020 the Upper Bavarians failed in the two playoffs between the second division sixteenth and the third division third in some dramatic ways. On Sunday, after a clear 3-0 win in the first leg, they were only satisfied with a 1: 3 (1: 2) defeat at VfL Osnabrück, which was relegated to the third division for the seventh time.
“We deserve it! We definitely deserve it, ”said trainer Tomas Oral in a DAZN interview. “I’m sorry for VfL, I know how they feel. But we were just ripe. ”In front of the 2000 spectators at Bremer Brücke, who were allowed at short notice and enthusiastically cheered VfL on, the Ingolstadt-based team suffered a lot this time as well. After just 20 minutes, the Lower Saxony had caught up with Marc Heider (6/20) two of three goals conceded from the first leg.
At this point they were only missing one goal for overtime and two for relegation. The loud fans and Ingolstadt’s nerves only calmed down when Filip Bilbija surprisingly scored 1: 2 (31st). Now Osnabrück needed three goals again, of which Etienne Amenyido (78th) only managed one.
Osnabrück fails again
VfL had left no stone unturned to make up for the high defeat on Thursday. Before the kick-off, the Katja Ebstein hit “Miracles are always there” was played over the stadium speakers. And then the 2,000 spectators, who had been admitted at short notice by the Lower Saxony state government as part of a model project to open leisure and cultural events, made a noise as if 20,000 of them were standing in the grandstands of the Bremer Brücke.
The FCI was noticeably intimidated by this atmosphere. His antidote had nothing to do with playful finesse or particularly strong nerves, but it turned out to be effective: Because the guests brought more and more nicknames and small fouls into this game and thereby broke the Osnabrück wave a little.
VfL tried to keep applying pressure after the break and hit the post twice with a header from Heider (48th) and a free kick from Sebastian Kerk (78th). However, the game was no longer so one-sided because the purple-whites lost their strength and Ingolstadt got several counter-chances as a result.
As bitter as last year’s experiences against 1. FC Nürnberg (conceded goal in stoppage time) and SV Wehen Wiesbaden (home defeat after away success) were: the bottom line is that the “Schanzer” now have a better relegation record than VfL. After 2009, 2011 and 2013, Osnabrück failed for the fourth time in these two nerve-wracking games.
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