2nd league
HSV falls behind in the promotion race – Schalke continues to worry
Hamburg’s Miro Muheim (l) brings down Fürth’s Armindo Sieb. photo
© Heiko Becker/dpa
FC St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel are getting closer and closer to the Bundesliga, Hamburger SV is only fourth. In the bottom of the table, Schalke drew 0-0 against KSC.
FC St. Pauli is marching inexorably towards the Bundesliga, the traditional clubs Schalke 04 and Hamburger SV are worried about their different goals for the season. After the meager 0-0 draw against Karlsruher SC, the Reviereleven missed the breakthrough and is deeply stuck in the relegation battle; HSV lost the relegation place to Fortuna Düsseldorf.
“We’re going home with a partial success, which hurts a lot. We don’t have to discuss the fact that we’re not happy with it,” said HSV coach Steffen Baumgart after the 1-1 draw at SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
Jomaine Consbruch (77th) equalized Hamburg’s opening goal by Miro Muheim (56th minute). With 45 points, Hamburg are now one point behind cup semi-finalists Düsseldorf. League leaders St. Pauli secured a 2-1 win against SC Paderborn thanks to goals from Marcel Hartel (32nd) and Lars Ritzka (47th) and increased their lead to third place. In the bottom of the table, Schalke remain undefeated in the fifth home game in a row, but the draw against KSC was not a groundbreaking one in the fight for existence. The lead over 16th place is still only two points.
Kiel also takes another step towards promotion
Holstein Kiel also took another step towards promotion with a 2-0 (1-0) win over Hansa Rostock. “If the football god wants us to go up and we gave everything, then so be it,” said Kiel’s Lewis Holtby. Düsseldorf is also on the rise after the 3-1 win at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and there is still a highlight for Fortuna. “On Wednesday we have a big game ahead of us with the DFB Cup semi-final in Leverkusen that everyone is looking forward to,” said goalscorer Christos Tzolis after his brace.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Hansa Rostock in the relegation battle. After the defeat against Düsseldorf, FCK coach Friedhelm Funkel’s team slipped to 16th place thanks to Eintracht Braunschweig’s 5-0 win against SV Elversberg.
Don’t be alarmed
The new table situation didn’t worry Funkel three days before the cup semi-final at 1. FC Saarbrücken. “There will always be a slippage until the end. That’s part of it. I’m convinced that we’ll get the necessary points and stay in the league,” said the FCK coach. There is also another big goal. “We definitely want to get to the cup final,” said goalscorer Marlon Ritter.
After losing 2-0 at Holstein Kiel, Rostock fell back into a direct relegation zone. For bottom team VfL Osnabrück, the 1-0 win at Wehen Wiesbaden probably came too late thanks to Christian Conteh’s goal (31st). In the relegation battle, Wehen, like 1. FC Magdeburg, is losing more and more of its lead over the relegation place after the 3-0 defeat against Hannover 96.