2.Liga, Round 28: Köln almost there

It’s all about six point margins. Leaders Köln have opened a six point gap at the top, and have one foot in the Bundesliga. By winning at 1860. It was a difficult match, as the hosts played decently, although of course they were crap when it counted, blowing chances. Köln was patient and seemed satisfied with a point, but then late decided to take their chance and end up with the win. Unless they completely fall apart, they should be back in the top flight, as their remaining schedule looks reasonable.

Greuther Fürth was able to defend their position with a hard fought draw in Hamburg. St.pauli needed the win and pressed, but after they took the lead, they were pegged back by Greuther counters in a quick one-two punch. The Paulistas did get a a split, but they really needed more to get back in the promotion race.

Paderborn put in a string performance at FSV Frankfurt and get an important win. This moves them even with Greuther Fürth and gives them a six point gap over 4th place. The Greuther have a superior goal difference, so that counts as a point in their favor. However in about 3 weeks Paderborn will host Fürth, and that should decidde the 2nd promotion spot.

Karslruhe and Lautern split the points in a hot match. Neither club had the edge, but for KSC, this pretty much ends any promotion hopes. FCK is still hanging on, but a six point gap is pretty big.

A big win for Bochum against Aue. The first half was very tentative on both sides, but the hosts came out strong after the restart and seized control. They ended up with a deserved win and help themselves in the relegation struggle – it gives them a six point bulge over the playoff spot.

Düsseldorf controlled the match but really couldn’t create much against Ingolstadt. They did create a couple of big chances, but blew them. As a result Fortuna still has to glance over their shoulder. Ingolstadt is now unbeaten in something like 11 straight road games, certainly part of the strength that moved them out of relegation.

Dresden again didn’t help themselves in a lame match against Sandhausen. Dynamo was the better team, but couldn’t really accomplish anything, remaining on the relegation bubble. The visitors did squat, but again, they didn’t have to and continue their impressive season. I don’t think anybody expected them to be this high in the table. They’ve basically done it with disciplined defense, not catenaccio, but good organization and playing within their means.

Bielefeld missed a chance and drops points again. Aalen was largely outplayed, but their GK was sharp. Arminia raised their game in the 2nd half, created some chances, but blew them. Aalen’s point keeps them nicely above the relegation zone, and thats all they’re concerned about right now.

On Monday, Union Berlin stopped their recent slide with a controlled win over Cottbus. Probably too late to do anything but act as a spoiler though. Energie isn’t dead yet, but it’s getting close to the Monty Python’s Holy Grail “Bring out your dead” skit…

Total attendance 191,685 (avg 21,298), sell out in Karlsruhe

 	
Fortuna Düsseldorf  -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:0 (0:0)   27,351

FC St. Pauli	    -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	2:2 (0:0)   28,087

                   1:0  Schachten (66.)
                   1:1  B. Röcker (75., Brosinski)
                   1:2  Azemi (78., Brosinski)
                   2:2  Thorandt (85., Gonther)
 
Dynamo Dresden	    -   SV Sandhausen	        0:0 (0:0)   25,153

VfL Bochum	    -   Erzgebirge Aue	        1:0 (0:0)   10,225

                   1:0  Sukuta-Pasu (50., Latza)

Karlsruher SC	    -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	2:2 (1:0)   27,600 *

                   1:0  Torres (26., G. Krebs)
                   1:1  Zoller (53., Dick)
                   1:2  Zoller (67., Orban)
                   2:2  Nazarov (89.)

FSV Frankfurt	    -  	SC Paderborn 07	        1:3 (0:1)    4,532

                   0:1  Kachunga (17., Koc)
                   0:2  Saglik (52., Brückner)
                   0:3  Saglik (55., penalty, Hünemeier)
                   1:3  Bertels (79., own goal, M. Görlitz)

1860 München	    -  	1. FC Köln	        0:1 (0:0)   33,600

                   0:1  Finne (85., Brecko)

Arminia Bielefeld   -  	VfR Aalen	        0:0 (0:0)   13,137

Monday:
1. FC Union Berlin  -  	Energie Cottbus	        2:0 (1:0)   22,000

                   1:0  Brandy (28., Parensen)
                   2:0  Brandy (82., Quiring)
 	



 1  1. FC Köln	  	        28   15  10  3 	  41:15  +26 	  55 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)    28   14  7   7 	  51:33  +18 	  49
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SC Paderborn 07	  	28   14  7   7 	  52:42  +10 	  49
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	28   12  7   9 	  41:29  +12 	  43 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	28   12  7   9 	  36:34  +2 	  43 
 6  1. FC Union Berlin	  	28   11  9   8 	  41:34  +7 	  42  
 7  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	28   10  11  7 	  37:27  +10 	  41 
 8  SV Sandhausen	  	28   11  8   9 	  24:23  +1 	  41 
 9  1860 München	  	28   10  8  10 	  29:31  -2 	  38 
10  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	28    9  8  11 	  28:30  -2 	  35 
11  FSV Frankfurt	  	28    9  7  12 	  38:42  -4 	  34 
12  VfR Aalen	  	        28    8  10 10 	  26:33  -7 	  34 
13  Erzgebirge Aue	  	28    9  7  12 	  34:42  -8 	  34 
14  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A	28    8  10 10 	  27:38  -11 	  34 
15  VfL Bochum	  	        28    9  6  13 	  24:32  -8 	  33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	28    4  15  9 	  28:40  -12 	  27
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	28    7  6  15 	  32:51  -19 	  27 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	28    6  5  17 	  32:45  -13 	  23


1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 28: Bayern drops point

Not much of an exciting headline, but I think after romping to 19 straight victories, it’s a bit of news when the champs drop even a point. Obviously the title is done, so Bayern’s interests are now pointed towards Europe in their attempt to repeat the Champions League conquest. Tom Starke got a rare start in the Bayern goal, and Pep Guardiola didn’t necessarily put out the best squad against Hoffenheim. Most pundits expected a Bayern wipeout, since Hoffenheim has the league’s worst defense. What they forget is that the Hoppers can score as well. The visitors surprised by taking the lead, but that didn’t phase the champs, as oldtimer Claudio Pizarro scored twice and it looked like the home side was through. However Hoffenheim fought back and eventually squared the match, letting Bayern drop it’s first point since October 2013.

Stuttgart is in dire trouble, but they jumped out to commanding lead against Dortmund. Neverthless, the Neons weren’t rattled, and forced their way back into the match. When Georg Niedermeier got his ass tossed for Stuttgart, the visitors smelled blood and pressed for the win, which duly came on Marco Reus’ hat-trick. A disaster for VfB, a good win for Dortmund.

Schalke was the better team and overpowered Hertha, who have been sliding a bit. The key to the Blues revival seems to be the return of Huntelaar, who has been scoring freely. Berlin looked like they might sneak into Europe for a while, but their limits are now for everyone to see, and lower mid-table seems about right, and perhaps worry about next season.

Leverkusen basically sucked and could only draw with Braunschweig. It was a rare sellout, and the fans were pissed off, whistling constantly when it became clear that the Aspirins were sucking. Basically, a listless performance. Braunschweig on the other gave their usual 110% effort. It’s probably too late for a run, but the visitors liked getting the away point.

Mainz slapped Augsburg to hold them off. The host side had something to prove after a weak midweek outing, and went about their business seriously. Augsburg had the usual fight-till-you-drop mentality, but they’ve been lacking the cutting edge recently, and they quickly found themselves in trouble. Mainz took full advantage and were never really pushed too hard. Augsburg is still experiencing a fine season, but seem to be falling back to where they belong.

Frankfurt put in the hard work at Wolfsburg and were on the verge of earning a point. But a last minute long blast by Naldo gave the VWs the win. Wolfsburg was the aggressor through most of the match, but Eintracht fought well and defended better. On the balance, they probably deserved a point.

Freiburg is on the verge of salvation. The Breisgauer love playing Nürnberg, having some 10 matches without a defeat. They were pressed this time, mainly because they let der Club create some chances and got duly punished. Eventually however the SCF pressure paid off and they forged ahead for a critical win.

Gladbach did in HSV in an average match. Hamburg started off OK, but as the Germans like to say “…dann waren Sie mit dem Latein am Ende” (Literally: They were finished with their Latin, basically saying they were clueless afterwards). Gladbach didn’t really have to do much to seize control of the match and roll over the visitors. This also puts them into solid Euro contention.

Werder Bremen put in a good performance in a Nordderby at Hannover, and the late win was largely deserved. The 96ers simply didn’t do enough, and were even somewhat fortunate to have a lead at halftime. Bremen came out string in the restart and eventually snatched the win at the death. Most importantly, this pretty much ends any relegation worries they may have had: even playing crap, how could they blow a 9 point lead? Hannover has been very disappointing this season, I think a lot more was expected from them. (On the other hand, if you look at the 96ers history, it might suggest that the last couple of decent seasons were the aberration, not this year. This year they’ve been doing what they usually do: they suck.)

Lots of interest this week in the games, despite the runaway Bayern title: six sold out stadiums, and the others almost full as well. Bundesliga attendance has been very good for most of the season.

Total attendance 408,083 (avg 45,343) sellouts in München, Leverkusen, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Gladbach and Hannover

 	
FC Schalke 04	     -   Hertha BSC	        2:0 (1:0)   61,550

                    1:0  Obasi (16., Matip)
                    2:0  Huntelaar (46., Obasi)

Bayern München	     -   1899 Hoffenheim	3:3 (3:2)   71,000 *

                    0:1  Modeste (23., Volland)
                    1:1  Pizarro (31., Shaqiri)
                    2:1  Shaqiri (34., Pizarro)
                    3:1  Pizarro (40., Ribery)
                    3:2  Salihovic (44., direct freekick)
                    3:3  Roberto Firmino (75., Herdling)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen  -   Eintracht Braunschweig	1:1 (0:0)   30,210 *

                    0:1  Reichel (47., Boland)
                    1:1  Kießling (53., Hand penalty)

VfB Stuttgart	     -   Borussia Dortmund	2:3 (2:1)   59,500 *

                    1:0  Gentner (9.)
                    2:0  Harnik (19., Traoré)
                    2:1  Reus (30., Hofmann)
                    2:2  Reus (68., penalty, Lewandowski)
                    2:3  Reus (83., Aubameyang)

VfL Wolfsburg	     -   Eintracht Frankfurt	2:1 (0:1)   29,159

                    0:1  Aigner (11., Barnetta)
                    1:1  Olic (69., de Bruyne)
                    2:1  Naldo (89.)

1. FSV Mainz 05	     -   FC Augsburg	        3:0 (2:0)   30,014

                    1:0  Bungert (23., Geis)
                    2:0  Hitz (38., own goal)
                    3:0  Geis (83., Koo)

SC Freiburg	     -   1. FC Nürnberg	        3:2 (1:2)   24,000 *

                    0:1  Pogatetz (7., Kiyotake)
                    1:1  Krmas (23., Schmid)
                    1:2  Drmic (45., penalty, Pogatetz)
                    2:2  Mehmedi (53., penalty, Klaus)
                    3:2  Klaus (65.)
 	
Bor. Mönchengladbach -   Hamburger SV	        3:1 (1:1)   53,650 *

                    0:1  Zoua (28., Calhanoglu)
                    1:1  Daems (37.)
                    2:1  Raffael (75., M. Kruse)
                    3:1  Alvaro Dominguez (78., Brouwers)

Hannover 96	     -   Werder Bremen	       1:2 (1:0)   49,000 *

                    1:0  Huszti (43., direct freekick)
                    1:1  di Santo (57., Elia)
                    1:2  Prödl (90., Caldirola)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	28   25  3  0 	  82:16  +66 	  78 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	28   17  4  7 	  62:31  +31 	  55 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	28   16  6  6 	  53:37  +16 	  54
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	28   15  3  10 	  47:34  +13 	  48
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	28   14  5  9 	  48:42  +6 	  47 
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	28   13  6  9 	  49:34  +15 	  45 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	28   13  5  10 	  41:43  -2 	  44
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        28   11  6  11 	  40:43  -3 	  39 
 9  1899 Hoffenheim	  	28    9  9  10 	  63:62  +1 	  36 
10  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	28   10  6  12 	  36:39  -3 	  36 
11  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	28    8  8  12 	  35:48  -13 	  32 
12  Werder Bremen	  	28    8  8  12 	  34:54  -20 	  32 
13  Hannover 96	  	        28    8  5  15 	  36:51  -15 	  29 
14  SC Freiburg	  	        28    7  8  13 	  33:50  -17 	  29 
15  1. FC Nürnberg	  	28    5  11 12 	  34:52  -18 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  VfB Stuttgart	  	28    6  6  16 	  42:57  -15 	  24 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Hamburger SV	  	28    6  6  16 	  43:59  -16 	  24
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	28    5  7  16 	  25:50  -25 	  22

	
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

3.Liga, Round 32: Heating up at the bottom

Saarbrücken and Burghausen were big losers, as time is running out for them to save themselves. Saarbrücken needed a result, but ran into improving Duisburg, who easily got the win. MSV has now moved into a respectable position, whereas the lights are now flickering at FCS, the Regionalliga beckons.

Unterhaching outplayed Wehen, but in the end could only gain a draw. They have a decent chance of saving themselves, but they need to convert games like this into wins.

Chemnitz got the win that pretty much ends their worries. CFC didn’t impress against Burghausen in this relegation 6 pointer, but they were more fortunate and made an early goal standup for the win. Wacker is on the verge of falling out of hope.

The race for 4th place (automatic DFB Cup qualifier) is heated up. Osnabrück blasted Kiel and put themselves back into contention,

At the top, no changes. Heidenheim, Leipzig and Darmstadt all won.

 	
1. FC Saarbrücken     -   MSV Duisburg	        0:2 (0:1)    6,189
SV Darmstadt 98	      -   Hallescher FC	        4:1 (3:0)    8,300
Hansa Rostock	      -   Stuttgarter Kickers	2:2 (2:0)    6,200
VfL Osnabrück	      -   Holstein Kiel	        4:0 (2:0)    8,278
SpVgg Unterhaching    -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:1 (0:1)    2,450
1. FC Heidenheim      -   Rot Weiß Erfurt	2:1 (0:1)   11,400
Jahn Regensburg	      -   RB Leipzig	        0:3 (0:2)    4,022
Chemnitzer FC	      -   Wacker Burghausen	1:0 (1:0)    4,118
Borussia Dortmund II  -   Preußen Münster	1:1 (0:0)    5,383
VfB Stuttgart II      -   SV Elversberg	        -:- (-:-)


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	32   20  9  3 	  52:22  +30 	  69 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	32   19  6  7 	  50:28  +22 	  63
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	32   17  9  6 	  51:24  +27 	  60
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	32   13  10 9 	  37:37   0 	  49 
 5  VfL Osnabrück	  	32   13  8  11 	  44:33  +11 	  47 
 6  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	32   12  11 9 	  40:35  +5 	  47 
 7  Hansa Rostock	  	32   12  8  12 	  37:44  -7 	  44 
 8  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	32   12  7  13 	  45:38  +7 	  43 
 9  Preußen Münster	  	32   10  13 9 	  45:42  +3 	  43 
10  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	32   11  10 11 	  39:39   0 	  43 
11  Hallescher FC	  	32   12  7  13 	  39:41  -2 	  43 
12  Chemnitzer FC	  	32   10  11 11 	  35:41  -6 	  41 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	32   11  7  14 	  39:45  -6 	  40 
14  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	32   10  9  13 	  44:48  -4 	  39 
15  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	32    8  13 11 	  34:32  +2 	  37 
16  SV Elversberg (N)	  	31   10  6  15 	  27:43  -16 	  36 
17  VfB Stuttgart II	  	31    9  7  15 	  38:47  -9 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	32    8  10 14 	  39:55  -16 	  34 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  	32    7  8  17 	  32:53  -21 	  29 
20  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	32    7  7  18 	  33:53  -20 	  28 	


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 27: Bayern champs

Bayern München is officially crowned as champion after 27 matches, setting a new record for dominance. A usual, the champs were completely in control against Hertha, who tried, but were clearly out of their league. The best thing is that it was a rare sell-out in the Olympiastadion.

Dortmund and Schalke met in the Revierderby. The homeside dominated the action, and should have won the match. However Schalke GK Ralf Fährmann was brilliant and could not be beaten. So the Neons had to setlle for holding 2nd from their rivals.

The relegation battle is where the real action is now. Last place Braunschweig is even making some noise, as they defeated an in-form mainz side and have some hopes of saving themselves. It’s a tall order, but they’ve managed to get within striking distance, and they’ve been playing hard. Mainz was disappointing, and even after they got back into the game, they seemed like they were still on the back foot.

Nürnberg had a huge win against tumbling Stuttgart. FCN broke their own futile run and have now leapt out of the relegation zone.
The homeside was clearly better, and Stuttgart was almost shockingly lame.

HSV was clearly the better side, but couldn’t break down Freiburg. They even went behind and couldn’t turn things around for a win. This hurts, because they could have passed Freiburg.

Bremen may fall back into the relegation battle. Werder was crap at home and was outplayed by visiting Wolfsburg.

Hannover is another that could surprisingly find themselves in trouble. The 96ers were outplayed by Hoffenheim, and were basically overpowered in the 2nd half. Only leaders Bayern have scored more goals than the Hoppers.

Leverkusen got back on track in a surprising manner. The Aspirins let Augsburg seize control of the match, and instead relied on discplined defense and counter-attacks. The Fuggers attacked and fought, but Bayer stood firm, and then in the end run produced a one-two knockout punch.

Frankfurt looks to have finally gotten out of the relegation mire. A strong effort against Gladbach was rewarded and Eintracht looks safe.

Total attendance 354,927 (avg 39,436), sellouts in Dortmund and Berlin

 	
Borussia Dortmund    -   FC Schalke 04	     0:0 (0:0)   77,600 *

Werder Bremen	     -   VfL Wolfsburg	     1:3 (1:2)

                    0:1  Junior Malanda (2., Rodriguez)
                    0:2  Perisic (10., Arnold)
                    1:2  Prödl (16., Obraniak)
                    1:3  Arnold (80.)

Eintr. Braunschweig  -   1. FSV Mainz 05     3:1 (2:1)   21,880

                    1:0  Kumbela (18., Reichel)
                    1:1  N. Müller (20., Pospech)
                    2:1  Nielsen (45. + 3)
                    3:1  Kumbela (77., Elabdellaoui)

Hertha BSC	     -   Bayern München	     1:3 (0:2)   76,197 *

                    0:1  T. Kroos (6., T. Müller)
                    0:2  M. Götze (14., Schweinsteiger)
                    1:2  Ramos (66., penalty, Ramos)
                    1:3  Ribery (79., M. Götze)
 	
 	
1. FC Nürnberg	     -   VfB Stuttgart	        2:0 (1:0)   38,188

                    1:0  Drmic (43., Kiyotake)
                    2:0  Drmic (54., Feulner)
 
1899 Hoffenheim	     -   Hannover 96	        3:1 (1:1)   21,319

                    0:1  Andreasen (10., Stindl)
                    1:1  Polanski (13.)
                    2:1  Modeste (51., Roberto Firmino)
                    3:1  Rudy (90. + 3, Elyounoussi)

FC Augsburg	     -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen	1:3 (0:1)   27,114

                    0:1  Kießling (11., Castro)
                    1:1  To. Werner (59., Philp)
                    1:2  Son (80., Brandt)
                    1:3  Can (83.)

Hamburger SV	     -   SC Freiburg	        1:1 (0:0)   44,629

                    0:1  Darida (50., Klaus)
                    1:1  Lasogga (55., van der Vaart)

Eintracht Frankfurt  -   Bor. Mönchengladbach	1:0 (1:0)   48,000

                    1:0  Joselu (16., Aigner)



 1  Bayern München (M, P)	27   25  2  0 	  79:13  +66 	  77 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	27   16  4  7 	  59:29  +30 	  52 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	27   15  6  6 	  51:37  +14 	  51
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	27   15  2  10 	  46:33  +13 	  47
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  VfL Wolfsburg	  	27   13  5  9 	  46:41  +5 	  44 
 6  Bor. Mönchengladbach	27   12  6  9 	  46:33  +13 	  42
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	27   12  5  10 	  38:43  -5 	  41 
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        27   11  6  10 	  40:40   0 	  39 
 9  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	27   10  6  11 	  36:37  -1 	  36 
10  1899 Hoffenheim	  	27    9  8  10 	  60:59  +1 	  35 
11  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	27    8  8  11 	  34:46  -12 	  32 
12  Hannover 96	  	        27    8  5  14 	  35:49  -14 	  29 
13  Werder Bremen	  	27    7  8  12 	  31:53  -22 	  29 
14  1. FC Nürnberg	  	27    5  11 11 	  32:49  -17 	  26 
15  SC Freiburg	  	        27    6  8  13 	  30:48  -18 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	27    6  6  15 	  42:56  -14 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  VfB Stuttgart	  	27    6  6  15 	  40:54  -14 	  24 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	27    5  6  16 	  24:49  -25 	  21


1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

2.Liga, Round 27: Top clubs strengthen

Midweek action saw the top clubs strengthen their positions, and the expense of their chasing contingents.

Leaders Köln were in control against a rather timid Karlsruhe, and had no real problems in getting a win. Greuther Fürth slapped Düsseldorf to remain in control of 2nd place. The most significant match was in Paderborn, as SCP overran St.Pauli, laying a stronger claim to 3rd place and slapping the Paulista’s hands as they tried to seize the Westfalen spot. Meanwhile, Kaiserslautern basically sucked and was unable to beat struggling Bielefeld, which also played into the top 3 hands. And finally, Union Berlin lost at Sandhausen, pretty much ending any aspirations they may have had.

On the bottom end, it looks like Cottbus is out of Energie. A painful home loss to a worthless 1860 side keeps them tethered to the bottom. This is one they could have won, but they basically dicked around and 1860 woke up.

Another relegation battle saw Dresden and Aalen draw. Dynamo looked the better team, but once again are left with only a point. This does let them get a bit closer to Bochum, who were ripped in Ingolstadt. Dresden’s 14 draws are by far the league’s most, and I’m sure they wish they could have turned some of these into victories. Bochum is playing crap, but one has to wonder whether Dynamo can make up the 4 point deficit.

Total attendance 126,462 (avg 14,051)

	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth  -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	4:1 (1:0)   11,000

                     1:0  Azemi (39., Mavraj)
                     2:0  Azemi (55., Brosinski)
                     3:0  Brosinski (65., Sukalo)
                     3:1  Benschop (66., O. Fink)
                     4:1  Stieber (78., Azemi)
 
VfR Aalen	      -   Dynamo Dresden	1:1 (0:0)    6,683

                     0:1  Kempe (79., Menz)
                     1:1  Leandro (84., penalty, Klauß)

SV Sandhausen	      -   1. FC Union Berlin	2:1 (1:1)    4,050

                     0:1  Quiring (4., direct freekick)
                     1:1  D. Blum (7., Riemann)
                     2:1  Adler (52., Stiefler)

SC Paderborn 07	      -   FC St. Pauli	        3:0 (1:0)   14,411

                     1:0  Saglik (41., Brückner)
                     2:0  Meha (58., Kachunga)
                     3:0  Saglik (69., penalty, Vrancic)

FC Ingolstadt 04      -   VfL Bochum	        3:0 (1:0)    3,708

                     1:0  P. Hofmann (28., Caiuby)
                     2:0  Lappe (74., Cohen)
                     3:0  P. Hofmann (79., Morales)

 	
1. FC Kaiserslautern  -   Arminia Bielefeld	1:1 (1:1)   22,689

                     1:0  Orban (36.)
                     1:1  C. Müller (42.)

1. FC Köln	      -   Karlsruher SC	        2:0 (1:0)   46,700

                     1:0  Brecko (29., Helmes)
                     2:0  Helmes (58., D. Halfar)

Energie Cottbus	      -   1860 München	        1:2 (1:0)   10,021

                     1:0  Fetsch (25., Madouni)
                     1:1  D. Stahl (47.)
                     1:2  Adlung (70., Stoppelkamp)

Erzgebirge Aue	      -   FSV Frankfurt	        2:1 (0:1)    7,200

                     0:1  M. Görlitz (30., Roshi)
                     1:1  Sylvestr (59., M. Fink)
                     2:1  Benatelli (77., Sylvestr)



 1  1. FC Köln	  	        27   14  10  3 	  40:15  +25 	  52 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	27   14  6   7 	  49:31  +18 	  48
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SC Paderborn 07	  	27   13  7   7 	  49:41  +8 	  46
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	27   12  6   9 	  39:27  +12 	  42 
 5  FC St. Pauli	  	27   12  6   9 	  34:32  +2 	  42 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	27   10  10  7 	  35:25  +10 	  40 
 7  SV Sandhausen	  	27   11  7   9 	  24:23  +1 	  40 
 8  1. FC Union Berlin	  	27   10  9   8 	  39:34  +5 	  39 
 9  1860 München	  	27   10  8   9 	  29:30  -1 	  38 
10  FSV Frankfurt	  	27    9  7  11 	  37:39  -2 	  34 
11  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	27    9  7  11 	  28:30  -2 	  34 
12  Erzgebirge Aue	  	27    9  7  11 	  34:41  -7 	  34 
13  VfR Aalen	  	        27    8  9  10 	  26:33  -7 	  33 
14  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	27    8  9  10 	  27:38  -11 	  33 
15  VfL Bochum	  	        27    8  6  13 	  23:32  -9 	  30
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	27    4  14  9 	  28:40  -12 	  26
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	27    7  5  15 	  32:51  -19 	  26 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	27    6  5  16 	  32:43  -11 	  23

1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga

3.Liga, Round 31: Midweek action

Midweek action in the Dritte Liga.

Leipzig hosted Heidenheim in the gala match, and it drew a big crowd. The Rasenballsportlers played well, and often had Heidenheim on the back foot, but the leaders didn’t let it slip and split the points. Both seem in the drivers seat for promotion.

Stuttgarter Kickers battled Darmstadt in a hard fought battle. The visitors extended their streak to 14 unbeaten, but had their hands full. Also, they were unable to make up ground on Leipzig, which hurts more.

Saarbrücken handled Rostock, but at this point it’s basically just giving a finger to the rest of the league. They’re still dead last and have a lot of ground to make up. Seems like it’s over. Rostock on the other hand sucked again, looks like they’re just phoning it in.

Kiel won a critical relegation battle as they swamped Stuttgart II. The Storks have a bit breathing room, and their superb goal difference adds another point. Just about everybody would be happy if Stuttgart went down, but it’s still a tight relegation struggle.

Unterhaching was the other big loser of the day, as their loss at Erfurt keeps them down, plus Burghausen and Saarbrücken are trying to sneak up on them.
Duisburg kept Elversberg in trouble with a win, whereas Münster’s win over Chemnitz finally gives them enough leg room.

Total attendance 72,747 (avg 7,275)

 	
Rot Weiß Erfurt	     -   SpVgg Unterhaching	2:0 (1:0)    4,428
SV Wehen Wiesbaden   -   VfL Osnabrück	        1:0 (1:0)    2,180
1. FC Saarbrücken    -   Hansa Rostock	        2:0 (2:0)    3,818
Stuttgarter Kickers  -   SV Darmstadt 98	0:0 (0:0)    4,300
Wacker Burghausen    -   Jahn Regensburg	2:2 (1:0)    2,600 	
Hallescher FC	     -   Borussia Dortmund II	0:0 (0:0)    9,029
Holstein Kiel	     -   VfB Stuttgart II	3:0 (2:0)    4,912
MSV Duisburg	     -   SV Elversberg	        3:0 (1:0)    9,106
Preußen Münster	     -   Chemnitzer FC	        3:1 (1:1)    7,062
RB Leipzig	     -   1. FC Heidenheim	1:1 (1:0)   25,312


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	31   19  9  3 	  50:21  +29 	  66 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	31   18  6  7 	  47:28  +19 	  60
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	31   16  9  6 	  47:23  +24 	  57
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	31   13  9  9 	  36:36   0 	  48 
 5  VfL Osnabrück	  	31   12  8  11 	  40:33  +7 	  44 
 6  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	31   11  11 9 	  38:35  +3 	  44 
 7  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	31   12  7  12 	  44:36  +8 	  43 
 8  Hallescher FC	  	31   12  7  12 	  38:37  +1 	  43 
 9  Hansa Rostock	  	31   12  7  12 	  35:42  -7 	  43 
10  Preußen Münster	  	31   10  12 9 	  44:41  +3 	  42
11  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	31   11  9  11 	  37:37   0 	  42 
12  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	31   10  9  12 	  44:45  -1 	  39 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	31   11  6  14 	  38:44  -6 	  39 
14  Chemnitzer FC	  	31    9  11 11 	  34:41  -7 	  38 
15  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	31    8  13 10 	  34:28  +6 	  37 
16  SV Elversberg (N)	  	31   10  6  15 	  27:43  -16 	  36 
17  VfB Stuttgart II	  	31    9  7  15 	  38:47  -9 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	31    8  9  14 	  38:54  -16 	  33 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  	31    7  8  16 	  32:52  -20 	  29 
20  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	31    7  7  17 	  33:51  -18 	  28


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

2.Liga, Round 26: No real winners

This week the 2.Liga was mostly in a holding pattern. Few goals (12!) and only three wins, all on the road.

Leaders Köln dominated against Aalen, circling the opponent penalty box like sharks, but actually created few real chances. The Aaleners held firm with disciplined defense and probably deserved their point.

Paderborn held on to the critical playoff spot with a last minute goal at Union. The Berliners really needed a win to get back into the promotion race. They’ve got a huge mountain to climb now.

St.Pauli missed a chance to jump to 3rd, but actually they can be happy they even got a point at home against Ingolstadt. The visitors actually ran rings around their noses, and had a couple of chances to win the match.

Dresden hosted Greuther Fürth in a battle of opposite table ends. But you really couldn’t tell the difference, as the Greuther pretty much disappointed throughout. Dresden didn’t have enough to press for a win, and remain in dire straits. Fürth holds onto 2nd, but it’s a precarious grip.

Kaiserslautern has snuck back into the promotion race. The Devils looked a little more clever against 1860, and after taking the lead relied on their defense and goalkeeper to hold the win. However this is 1860 you’re talking about, so obviously they could be expected to suck when it counts.

Karlsruhe needed a win against Aue, but after taking an early essentially did squat. Erzgebirge got back into things and later equalized. and then KSC had no will to try and win the match. If they miss out on a promotion chance, this is definitely one they should remember. Aue floats above relegation, and has one foot in salvation.

Bochum remains in the worry zone above relegation, and they were completely outplayed at home by Sandhausen, who have ended any worries they may have had. A total lame performance by Bochum.

Boring match in Bornheim as FSV and Fortuna just kicked around the ball and then went to the pub. Both teams look pretty good from relegation, and perhaps that’s all they care about at this point.

A disaster for Bielefeld, as they gave up two injury time goals and lose at home to Cottbus. They needed to win to leapfrog Dresden and have a chance, but now things are complicated. Cottbus gets a big win. They’re too far behind Bochum to reach salvation, but they could get the playoff spot and potential for staying up. That’s more than they could have expected a couple of weeks ago. Arminia has basically been reduced to the same thing.

Total attendance 189,826 (avg 21,092)

 	
1. FC Union Berlin   -   SC Paderborn 07	1:1 (0:0)   18,820

                    1:0  Brandy (53., Mattuschka)
                    1:1  Hünemeier (89., Koc)

VfL Bochum	     -   SV Sandhausen	        0:1 (0:1)   11,322

                    0:1  Stiefler (7.)

Dynamo Dresden	     -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	1:1 (0:0)   25,115

                    0:1  Djurdjic (71., penalty, Stieber)
                    1:1  Dedic (79., penalty, Ouali)

FSV Frankfurt	     -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	0:0 (0:0)    7,712

1. FC Köln	     -   VfR Aalen	        0:0 (0:0)   45,700

FC St. Pauli	     -   FC Ingolstadt 04	0:0 (0:0)   28,301
 
1860 München	     -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	0:1 (0:0)   24,600

                    0:1  Gaus (55., Dick)
 
Karlsruher SC	     -   Erzgebirge Aue	        1:1 (1:0)   12,782

                    1:0  G. Krebs (13., Yabo)
                    1:1  S. Okoronkwo (68., Miatke)

Arminia Bielefeld    -   Energie Cottbus	1:3 (0:1)   15,474

                    0:1  Sanogo (33., Kopfball, Stiepermann)
                    1:1  K. Przybylko (80., Rechtsschuss, Schönfeld)
                    1:2  Salger (90., own goal, Stiepermann)
                    1:3  Sanogo (90. + 2)



 1  1. FC Köln	  	        26   13  10 3 	  38:15  +23 	  49 
 2  SpVgg Greuther Fürth (A)	26   13  6  7 	  45:30  +15 	  45
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SC Paderborn 07	  	26   12  7  7 	  46:41  +5 	  43
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  FC St. Pauli	  	26   12  6  8 	  34:29  +5 	  42 
 5  1. FC Kaiserslautern	26   12  5  9 	  38:26  +12 	  41 
 6  Karlsruher SC (N)	  	26   10  10 6 	  35:23  +12 	  40 
 7  1. FC Union Berlin	  	26   10  9  7 	  38:32  +6 	  39 
 8  SV Sandhausen	  	26   10  7  9 	  22:22   0 	  37 
 9  1860 München	  	26    9  8  9 	  27:29  -2 	  35 
10  FSV Frankfurt	  	26    9  7  10 	  36:37  -1 	  34 
11  Fortuna Düsseldorf (A)	26    8  9  9 	  26:34  -8 	  33 
12  VfR Aalen	  	        26    8  8  10 	  25:32  -7 	  32 
13  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	26    8  7  11 	  25:30  -5 	  31 
14  Erzgebirge Aue	  	26    8  7  11 	  32:40  -8 	  31 
15  VfL Bochum	  	        26    8  6  12 	  23:29  -6 	  30
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Dynamo Dresden	  	26    4  13  9 	  27:39  -12 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Arminia Bielefeld (N)	26    7  4  15 	  31:50  -19 	  25 
18  Energie Cottbus	  	26    6  5  15 	  31:41  -10 	  23


1st line: Promotion to Bundesliga
2nd line: Playoff with 16th Bundesliga
3rd line: Playoff with no.3 of 3.Liga
4th line: Relegation to 3.Liga

BUNDESLIGA, Round 26: Big relegation battles

Freiburg is fighting against relegation, and came up with a second huge “six-pointer”. The Breisgauer dominated against Werder Bremen and ended up with a deserved victory. Bremen was pretty lame and was basically overrun by an active SCF. Bremen is likely safe, although they could easily slide back into the drop struggle. This was huge for Freiburg, who might have looked dead only a couple of weeks ago.

Stuttgart had a huge win against Hamburg, as two oldtimer traditionals battle against impending doom. There’s a good possibility that at least one of them goes down. (And as always mentioned, HSV is the only club to play every single Bundesliga season). It was a largely even match until HSV went down a man in the second half. Stuttgart had just enough pressure to get a critical win.

Dortmund used individual brilliance to overcome Hannover. The 96ers fought hard and seemed to be holding off the superior Dortmund side, but the Neons broke through and ripped them. This puts Dortmund in a good position to hold off Schalke from 2nd and the upcoming Revierderby.

Schalke dominated against Braunschweig, but was very wasteful with chances. As a result, they had some nervous moments at the end, until they finally finished things off in injury-time. The Blues have been getting better and really should have won this in a rout. Braunschweig didn’t do anything, but at least managed to put a scare in their hosts late.

Augsburg gave Wolfsburg fits, so the hosts were happy to save a point. The VWs had some better play, but were basically banging their heads against a fighting and well organized FCA. In fact, it looked like a win for the visitors, but oldtimer Ivica Olic saved the day with a late header.

Bayern won again, ho-hum. Mainz gave them a battle early, although the champs were pretty much in control throughout. After they got tired they struck a couple of times and then went home.

Gladbach had an easy time with Berlin. They didn’t really create a lot of chances, but they were cold-blooded when they needed to be. Hertha basically just dicked around aimlessly, like they didn’t want to be there. As a result, Gladbach wasn’t really pressed to come up with a full out match. They’re back in the hunt for Euros, whereas Hertha takes a set back.

Frankfurt got a huge away win at Nürnberg in a critical relegation tussle. After a somewhat quiet first half, things got exciting after the restart. Eintracht came out guns balzing and stunned the home side, seemingly wrapping everything up, racing out to a 3-0 lead. One might have thought that FCN was dead and buried, but oddly enough they roused themselves and fought back to within a goal. However in the final stretch Pinola got his ass red carded, and that allowed Frankfurt to finish off the game. Overall, a very deserved win for the visitors, who probably should have had an easier time. Nürnberg is now in dire straits, having dropped several in a row. A win is really needed, as they’ll have to climb over several bodies. This might be just enough for Frankfurt to survive.

Finally, Hoffenheim stunned Leverkusen and thereby pretty much secures another Bundesliga season. Meanwhile the Aspirins all of a sudden are trying to hold on to a Champions League spot. They haven’t won in nine official matches (including Euro wipeouts) and could conceivably fall out of even Euroliga with a couple more losses. Hoffenheim defeated Bayer for the first time in 12 tries, and in general played a good match. They have the worst defense in the league, but they can score (3rd after Bayern and Dortmund). The Asiprins looked to have salvaged a point, but the Hoppers struck at the end to shock their hosts.

Total attendance 371,541 (avg 41,282), sellouts in Freiburg, Gelsenkirchen (Schalke), Hannover and Mainz.

SC Freiburg	      -   Werder Bremen	           3:1 (1:0)   24,000 *

                     1:0  Schuster (15., Darida)
                     2:0  Klaus (53., Mehmedi)
                     3:0  Mehmedi (59., Klaus)
                     3:1  Petersen (70., Hunt)

FC Schalke 04	      -   Eintracht Braunschweig   3:1 (1:0)   61,973 *

                     1:0  Goretzka (17., M. Meyer)
                     2:0  Huntelaar (65., direct freekick)
                     2:1  Kessel (82., Elabdellaoui)
                     3:1  Szalai (90. + 3)

VfB Stuttgart	      -   Hamburger SV	           1:0 (0:0)   55,000

                     1:0  Maxim (69., Traoré)

Hannover 96	      -   Borussia Dortmund	   0:3 (0:1)   49,000 *

                     0:1  Hummels (43., Sokratis)
                     0:2  Lewandowski (52., H. Mkhitaryan)
                     0:3  Reus (90. + 1, H. Mkhitaryan)

VfL Wolfsburg	      -   FC Augsburg	           1:1 (0:1)   25,645

                     0:1  To. Werner (43., Halil Altintop)
                     1:1  Olic (81., Rodriguez)

1. FSV Mainz 05	      -   Bayern München	   0:2 (0:0)   34,000 *

                     0:1  Schweinsteiger (82., Shaqiri)
                     0:2  M. Götze (86., Ribery)


Bor. Mönchengladbach  -   Hertha BSC	           3:0 (3:0)   53,050

                     1:0  Arango (28., Herrmann)
                     2:0  Ramos (32., own goal, Arango)
                     3:0  Raffael (40., M. Kruse)

Sunday: 
1. FC Nürnberg	      -   Eintracht Frankfurt	   2:5 (0:1)   40,079

                     0:1  Barnetta (21., Aigner)
                     0:2  Joselu (49., Aigner)
                     0:3  Madlung (53., Lanig)
                     1:3  Drmic (64., Campana)
                     2:3  Campana (72., Plattenhardt)
                     2:4  Joselu (88., Kadlec)
                     2:5  Kadlec (90. + 2, Joselu)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen   -   1899 Hoffenheim	   2:3 (1:2)   28,794

                     0:1  Salihovic (14., Hand penalty)
                     1:1  Kießling (39., Spahic)
                     1:2  Volland (40., Roberto Firmino)
                     2:2  Rolfes (54., L. Bender)
                     2:3  Modeste (89., F. Johnson)


 		
 1  Bayern München (M, P)	26   24  2  0 	  76:12  +64 	  74 
 2  Borussia Dortmund	  	26   16  3  7 	  59:29  +30 	  51 
 3  FC Schalke 04	  	26   15  5  6 	  51:37  +14 	  50
 4  Bayer 04 Leverkusen	  	26   14  2  10 	  43:32  +11 	  44
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 5  Bor. Mönchengladbach	26   12  6  8 	  46:32  +14 	  42 
 6  VfL Wolfsburg	  	26   12  5  9 	  43:40  +3 	  41
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 7  1. FSV Mainz 05	  	26   12  5  9 	  37:40  -3 	  41 
 8  FC Augsburg	  	        26   11  6  9 	  39:37  +2 	  39 
 9  Hertha BSC Berlin (N)	26   10  6  10 	  35:34  +1 	  36 
10  1899 Hoffenheim	  	26    8  8  10 	  56:59  -1 	  32 
11  Hannover 96	  	        26    8  5  13 	  34:46  -12 	  29 
12  Eintracht Frankfurt	  	26    7  8  11 	  33:46  -13 	  29 
13  Werder Bremen	  	26    7  8  11 	  30:50  -20 	  29 
14  SC Freiburg	  	        26    6  7  13 	  29:47  -18 	  25 
15  VfB Stuttgart	  	26    6  6  14 	  40:52  -12 	  24
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  Hamburger SV	  	26    6  5  15 	  41:55  -14 	  23
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1. FC Nürnberg	  	26    4  11 11 	  30:49  -19 	  23 
18  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)	26    4  6  16 	  21:48  -27 	  18


	
1st line: Champions League
2nd line: Europaliga (+ Cup winner)
3rd line: Playoff with 2.Liga 3rd place
4th line: Relegation to 2.Liga

3.Liga, Round 30: Only relegation remains

Getting into the home stretch, things are pretty clear at this point. Heidenheim recovered from their loss last week, and got back on the win track. Leipzig dropped a point, but continue in 2nd. Darmstadt has crept closer. So those are the teams that will be in the promotion zone, the only remaining issue is who gets auto promotion and who goes to a playoff.

At the bottom, Saarbrücken looks dead and Burghausen is down to one lung, and they have pneumonia. Unterhaching is the other club in the zone, but their are several clubs that could fall. This is the only real significant race, although if you want some mini-excitement, 4th place is tight, which means an automatic spot in next year’s DFB-Cup Main round.

Heidenheim had problems with desperate Burghausen, and especially veteran Michael Thurk had huge chances, by count five golden opportunities. But he couldn’t hit the net, and FCH continued to bombard the Wacker goal. Finally they broke through for a deserved, albeit minimal win. That looks just enough to sink Burghausen.

Unterhaching has a new coach in Cristian Ziege. I remember the ex-international mostly for his dumb-ass mohawk hair in one forgettable World Cup, but he’s the man tasked to save the Hachingers. They did put up a good fight, getting a point against Leipzig. The RedBulls have to be careful, as Darmstadt is getting closer. The 98ers won again, with Dominik Stroh-Engel scoring in his 7th straight game and getting a tough win against desperate Saarbrücken, who now look finished.

Elversberg and Kiel battled to a scoreless draw in a relegation battle, But Stuttgart-II lost at home to Wehen, and thus things remain tight just above the drop zone.


Borussia Dortmund II  -   Stuttgarter Kickers	1:1 (0:0)    1,658
VfB Stuttgart II      -   SV Wehen Wiesbaden	1:2 (1:1)      510
Hansa Rostock	      -   MSV Duisburg	        0:1 (0:1)    7,800
SV Darmstadt 98       -   1. FC Saarbrücken	1:0 (1:0)    7,500
SV Elversberg	      -   Holstein Kiel	        0:0 (0:0)      728
VfL Osnabrück	      -   Rot Weiß Erfurt	1:1 (0:0)    8,260
SpVgg Unterhaching    -   RB Leipzig            1:1 (1:1)    3,050
1. FC Heidenheim      -   Wacker Burghausen	1:0 (0:0)   11,000
Jahn Regensburg	      -   Preußen Münster	2:0 (1:0)    3,045
Chemnitzer FC	      -   Hallescher FC  	-:- (-:-)


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	30   19  8  3 	  49:20  +29 	  65 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	30   18  5  7 	  46:27  +19 	  59
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	30   16  8  6 	  47:23  +24 	  56
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	30   12  9  9 	  35:36  -1 	  45 
 5  VfL Osnabrück	  	30   12  8  10 	  40:32  +8 	  44 
 6  Hansa Rostock	  	30   12  7  11 	  35:40  -5 	  43 
 7  Hallescher FC	  	29   12  5  12 	  37:36  +1 	  41 
 8  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	30   11  8  11 	  37:37   0 	  41 
 9  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	30   10  11  9 	  35:35   0 	  41 
10  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	30   11  7  12 	  42:36  +6 	  40 
11  Preußen Münster	  	30    9  12  9 	  41:40  +1 	  39 
12  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	30   10  8  12 	  42:43  -1 	  38 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	30   11  5  14 	  38:44  -6 	  38 
14  Chemnitzer FC	  	29    9  10 10 	  32:37  -5 	  37 
15  SV Elversberg (N)	  	30   10  6  14 	  27:40  -13 	  36 
16  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	30    7  13 10 	  31:28  +3 	  34 
17  VfB Stuttgart II	  	30    9  7  14 	  38:44  -6 	  34
--------------------------------------------------------------------
18  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	30    8  9  13 	  38:52  -14 	  33 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  	30    7  7  16 	  30:50  -20 	  28 
20  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	30    6  7  17 	  31:51  -20 	  25


A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga

3.Liga, Round 29: Heidenheim finally loses

Leaders Heidenheim were totally outplayed in Münster, suffering their first loss in 16 matches. Still they remain in control of the boards. Leipzig got a big win over Osnabrück to strengthen their position, but Darmstadt remains close with a win at Rostock.

 	
Wacker Burghausen      -   SpVgg Unterhaching	1:0 (0:0)    2,260
Rot Weiß Erfurt	       -   VfB Stuttgart II	4:2 (2:1)    3,702
SV Wehen Wiesbaden     -   SV Elversberg	3:0 (1:0)    2,168
MSV Duisburg	       -   Holstein Kiel	1:1 (1:0)   10,507
Hansa Rostock	       -   SV Darmstadt 98	0:1 (0:1)    9,800
1. FC Saarbrücken      -   Borussia Dortmund II	0:1 (0:1)    4,101
Stuttgarter Kickers    -   Chemnitzer FC	0:3 (0:2)    3,830
Hallescher FC	       -   Jahn Regensburg	4:1 (2:0)    6,311
Preußen Münster	       -   1. FC Heidenheim	2:0 (2:0)    7,307
RasenBallsport Leipzig -   VfL Osnabrück	1:0 (1:0)   12,205


 1  1. FC Heidenheim	  	29   18  8  3 	  48:20  +28 	  62 
 2  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)  29   18  4  7 	  45:26  +19 	  58
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 3  SV Darmstadt 98	  	29   15  8  6 	  46:23  +23 	  53
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 4  VfL Osnabrück	  	29   12  7  10 	  39:31  +8 	  43 
 5  Hansa Rostock	  	29   12  7  10 	  35:39  -4 	  43 
 6  SV Wehen Wiesbaden	  	29   11  9  9 	  33:35  -2 	  42 
 7  Hallescher FC	  	29   12  5  12 	  37:36  +1 	  41 
 8  Stuttgarter Kickers	  	29   11  7  11 	  36:36   0 	  40 
 9  Rot Weiß Erfurt	  	29   11  6  12 	  41:35  +6 	  39 
10  Preußen Münster	  	29    9  12  8 	  41:38  +3 	  39 
11  MSV Duisburg (A)	  	29    9  11  9 	  34:35  -1 	  38 
12  Chemnitzer FC	  	29    9  10 10 	  32:37  -5 	  37 
13  Borussia Dortmund II	29   11  4  14 	  37:43  -6 	  37 
14  Jahn Regensburg (A)	  	29    9  8  12 	  40:43  -3 	  35 
15  SV Elversberg (N)	  	29   10  5  14 	  27:40  -13 	  35 
16  VfB Stuttgart II	  	29    9  7  13 	  37:42  -5 	  34 
17  Holstein Kiel (N)	  	29    7  12 10 	  31:28  +3 	  33
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18  SpVgg Unterhaching	  	29    8  8  13 	  37:51  -14 	  32 
19  Wacker Burghausen	  	29    7  7  15 	  30:49  -19 	  28 
20  1. FC Saarbrücken	  	29    6  7  16 	  31:50  -19 	  25

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

1st line: Promotion to 2.Liga
2nd line: Promotion Playoff with 2.Liga 16th place
3rd line: Relegation to Regionalliga