Schalke remain top of Bundesliga 2 but missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead after both Darmstadt and Elversberg tripped up on the road on Friday evening.
Matchday 26 results
Schalke 2-2 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Dzeko 29′, 2-0 Karaman 38′, 2-1 Nawrocki 82′, 2-2 Pichler 90’+8Sent off: Dzeko 52′Missed penalty: Leopold 81′
Schalke missed an opportunity to extend their lead at the Bundesliga 2 summit after throwing away a 2-0 lead. Starting in emphatic fashion, Edin Džeko struck his sixth of the campaign before Kenan Karaman doubled the Royal Blues’ tally heading into the break. Džeko’s red card seven minutes after the restart turned the game on its head. Loris Karius made himself big to deny Enzo Leopold from the spot but Maik Nawrocki scored from the resulting corner before Benedikt Pichler secured Hannover a share of the spoils in the dying embers.
Greuther Fürth 2-0 Elversberg
Goals: 1-0 Hrgota 42’, 2-0 Reich 90’+6
The Clover Leaves extended their unbeaten run to four games and claimed back-to-back wins for the first time all season with their clinical victory over promotion hopefuls Elversberg. The hosts sat deep and played on the counter for large parts, with captain Branimir Hrgota typifying this strategy with a clinical finish before the interval. Lukas Petkov had a chance to equalise from the penalty spot midway through the second 45 but squandered the opportunity against his former side, before Lukas Reich wrapped things up deep in added time, again from a counter-attack.
Magdeburg 1-1 Darmstadt
Goals: 1-0 Nürnberger 62′ (og), 1-1 Nuremberg 67′
Rock-bottom Magdeburg held a usually free-scoring Darmstadt to a draw. The hosts absolutely dominated the first half but couldn’t convert that dominance into numerical advantage past the on-song Marcel Schuhen. The lead did materialise after the break, however, as Philipp Hercher forced Fabian Nürnberger into an unfortunate own goal. The Darmstadt man made amends moments later, though, curling a stunning effort into the top corner from 20 yards. Despite a late push, neither side could find a winner, meaning Darmstadt stumble somewhat in their pursuit for automatic promotion.
Arminia Bielefeld 2-2 Paderborn
Goals: 1-0 Grodowski 24′, 1-1 Marino 53’, 1-2 Marino 62’, 2-2 Corboz 90’ (pen.)
Mael Corboz secured Bielefeld a share of the spoils with a late spot-kick against promotion hopefuls Paderborn. Filip Bilbija saw his first-half effort chalked off for the visitors before Joel Grodowski headed Arminia into the lead. Noah Sarenren Bazee missed a glaring opportunity as the hosts looked to double their advantage, before Paderborn’s Calvin Brackelmann saw his effort ruled out. Stefano Marino then struck twice to give the visitors a deserving lead but they were unable to hold on, missing a chance to close the gap at the top.
Kaiserslautern 3-0 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Şahin 3′, 2-0 Berisha 14′, 3-0 Emreli 90’+4
Kaiserslautern returned to winning ways with a clinical performance, bringing an end to Karlsruhe’s three-game unbeaten run. Semih Şahin took just two minutes to open the scoring before Mërgim Berisha doubled Lautern’s lead after reacting quickest to Marlon Ritter’s spilled free-kick. It was more one-way traffic for the second period with Berisha and Luca Sirch both striking the woodwork before Mahir Emreli sealed all three points late on as Torsten Lieberknecht’s charges secured a comfortable win to keep third in their sights.
Dynamo Dresden 6-0 Preußen Münster
Goals: 1-0 Bobzien 14′, 2-0 Bobzien 18′, 3-0 Hauptmann 31’, 4-0 Hauptmann 57’, 5-0 Vermeij 59′, 6-0 Ceka 74′
Dresden ran riot against Münster, hitting their opponents for six in Sunday’s relegation six-pointer to put breathing space between the two clubs. Ben Bobzien struck twice inside 20 minutes before Niklas Hauptmann scored either side of the break. Hungry for more, Dresden’s goalscoring exploits didn’t stop there. Vincent Vermeij and Jason Ceka got in on the action as Dresden scored six for the first time in Germany’s second division, inflicting successive defeats on Preußen
Hertha Berlin 1-1 Bochum Goals: 1-0 Kownacki 45′ (pen), 1-1 Morgalle 90’+1
A late Leandro Morgalla strike rescued a point for Bochum at the Olympiastadion on Saturday, after a Dawid Kownacki penalty had given the hosts the lead just before the interval. The capital club dominated the first half, during which the visitors failed to provide much in the way of an attacking threat. As half-time approached, Kownacki was brought down by Noah Loosli, and the Pole dusted himself off to score from the spot. The second half was a little more even, and some sustained Bochum pressure in the dying moments paid off when Morgalla smashed the ball home from close range to earn a useful point for Uwe Rösler’s men.
Holstein Kiel 2-3 Nuremberg
Goals: 0-1 Justvan 14′, 0-2 Justvan 22′, 1-2 Kaprálik 29′, 2-2 Davidsen 45’+8, 2-3 Friday 72′
Nuremberg returned to winning ways in a hard-fought victory over Kiel. Julian Justvan struck twice to fire the visitors into a deserved 2-0 lead but Kiel responded when Adrián Kaprálik tapped in from close range. Persistence then paid off for Tim Walter’s side, who were rewarded when Kasper Davidsen’s diving header brought the teams level heading into the break. Mohamed Alì Zoma netted his 10th of the campaign as Kiel’s winless streak stretched to eight games.
Eintracht Braunschweig 1-0 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 1-0 Heusser 62′
Braunschweig secured their first win since January in a decisive victory over Düsseldorf to move clear of the automatic relegation places. With honours even at the break, Robin Heußer showcased composure to slot the ball beyond Marcel Lotka before Braunschweig’s Fabio Di Michele Sanchez saw his strike ruled out moments later. Despite Fortuna pushing for an equaliser, Braunschweig’s defence stood firm to move within two points of their opponents.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 26
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