2.Liga restart

The 2.Liga restarted after their winterbreak, and the top clubs had some difficulties, whereas a couple of tail-enders woke up…

2.Liga - Round 20

Dynamo Dresden        -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth   3:1 (1:0)   23,555
SC Paderborn 07       -   1. FC Union Berlin     3:2 (1:1)    7,549
MSV Duisburg          -   FSV Frankfurt          1:2 (0:1)    9,577
Alemannia Aachen      -   FC St. Pauli           2:1 (2:1)   22,752
FC Ingolstadt 04      -   Fortuna Düsseldorf     1:1 (1:1)    6,585
Karlsruher SC         -   Erzgebirge Aue         2:1 (1:1)   11,515
Eintracht Frankfurt   -   Eintracht Braunschweig 2:1 (2:1)   36,200
VfL Bochum            -   Hansa Rostock          2:1 (1:0)   12,819
1860 München          -   Energie Cottbus        2:0 (1:0)   14,600


 1  Fortuna Düsseldorf            20    12   7 	 1    44:21  +23    43
 2  Eintracht Frankfurt (A)       20    12   6 	 2    43:20  +23    42
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 3  SC Paderborn 07               20 	12   6 	 2    32:17  +15    42
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 4  SpVgg Greuther Fürth          20 	12   4 	 4    42:17  +25    40
 5  FC St. Pauli (A)              20 	12   3 	 5    39:23  +16    39
 6  1860 München                  20 	11   2 	 7    42:28  +14    35
 7  1. FC Union Berlin            20 	 9   4 	 7    32:32   0     31
 8  Eintracht Braunschweig (N)    20 	 8   5 	 7    26:24  +2     29
 9  VfL Bochum                    20 	 8   3 	 9    27:30  -3     27
10  Dynamo Dresden (N)            20 	 7   4 	 9    36:35  +1     25
11  Energie Cottbus               20 	 6   5 	 9    20:32  -12    23
12  MSV Duisburg                  20 	 5   5 	10    25:29  -4     20
13  Erzgebirge Aue                20 	 4   7 	 9    17:33  -16    19
14  Alemannia Aachen              20 	 3   9 	 8    19:27  -8     18
15  FSV Frankfurt                 20 	 3   8 	 9    20:37  -17    17
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16  FC Ingolstadt 04              20 	 3   6 	11    22:40  -18    15
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17  Karlsruher SC                 20 	 4   3 	13    21:44  -23    15
18  Hansa Rostock (N)             20 	 1   9 	10    14:32  -18    12

Leaders Düsseldorf seemingly had an easy task at no.16 Ingolstadt, but the Bavarians had shown signs of life prior to winterbreak, and they continued their positive trend. Fortuna was the superior side, but after squanderig some chances to take the lead, they found themselves down a man when Lambertz got his ass tossed with 20 minutes left. Ingolstadt attacked furiously, but were unable to break down the leaders defense.

St.Pauli suffered a worse fate, as they got dumped at struggling Aachen 2-1. Despite a miserable season, Alemannia’s fans remain loyal, and they were rewarded with a hard fought victory.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth also went down in flames. Dresden is fairly tough at home, but no one expected Dynamo to dominate like they did. Greuther was on the defensive for most of the match, getting outplayed from the start. Despite having the leagues tightest defense, they could not stop Dresden’s attack, and deservedly lost.

Paderborn continues their sensational run. Every 2.Liga season, there is a surprise team (last year it was Aue) that contends, and SCP is causing waves. Paderborn jumps into the playoff spot with the 3-2 win over Union Berlin, which is the pinnacle of the club’s history. However this was not easy, as Union Berlin proved to be a very tough opponent. In the end, it was mistakes in Berlin’s back line that led to opportunities that Paderborn ruthlessly converted. Union may not be a promotion threat, but they showed that they’re a solid 2.Liga squad.

Eintracht Frankfurt had a difficult match against Braunschweig, but were able to down the LIons with two goals their best player, captain Alex Meier. The guests had taken an early lead, but Meier headed his goals in the 11th and 22nd minutes to give Frankfurt the lead. Braunschweig fought hard and were constantly dangerous, but pretty much “shot their wad” by halftime. In the 2nd half, the hosts controlled the match, and were able to bring it home without much danger. The win allows Frankfurt to leapfrog Paderborn into 2nd and maintain their goal of immediate re-promotion.

Continuing their disgraceful season, MSV Duisburg got stunned at home by FSV Frankfurt, who may start their usual pattern: furious second half charge to avoid relegation.

Karlsruhe finally got some positive news. New coach Jörn Andersen had lost five matches on the trot, but KSC finally pulled one out. Erzgebirge Aue, who have struggled this year, was beaten 2-1. It wasn’t pretty, although the winning goal was: a combo between Steffen Haas and Hakan Calhanoglu (both assists) was lifted by Haas over the keeper. So KSC actually wakes up and opens the door for saving themselves. A lot of work to be done, and the next few matches will tell whether the “giant” is back. Aue has obviously not been able to surprise folks like last season, and will need to be careful they don’t fall into the relegation zone, as all those struggling clubs have started with signs of life.

Another disappointment has been Bochum, who many expected to contend. Instead VfL has been pretty listless throughout the season. Even worse has been last place Hansa Rostock, the top ex-GDR club not too long ago. Bochum had the lead, but couldn’t press their advantage. Just before the half, they got lucky, as Marek Mintal missed a penalty off a handball. (Bochum’s coach Andreas Bergmann got his ass tossed for protesting too much). In the 2nd half, Rostock improved and deserved the equalizer, perhaps dreaming of a point. However, Bochum brought on their new signing, Georgian striker Nikolz Gelashvili, and he got the winner in his debut. A tough loss for Hansa, who remain mired at the bottom. Not sure if Bochum is ready to make a move though. They weren’t too impressive, and in their last training match before the restart, they were outplayed in scoreless draw with 4th division Wuppertal…

The Monday night match is 1860 hosting Cottbus. 1860 needs a win if they are to have any hope of having a say in promotion…(UPDATE: 1860 wins 2-0 on brace by Benny Lauth…)

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