2.Liga, Round 3: Favorites struggle

Some of the favorites are struggling, but the newcomers to the 2.Liga are generally off to positive starts.

Nürnberg is in crisis already. After getting bitch-slapped by Fürth in the Frankenderby last week, der Club at least figured to get some easy points against minnows FSV Frankfurt. They really couldn’t do anything right, despite an early gift. Ex-Nürnberger Hanno Balitsch had just signed for FSV, and was whistled for a penalty, even though the fould was outside the box. But Nürnberg couldn’t take advantage, as Pinola’s penalty was stopped by Klandt. Then Balitsch got revenge, as headed in a corner off Grifo’s corner. FCN was stunned and ran around aimlessly, until halftime, when they were treated to a whistling concert by enraged Club fans (for those that don’t know, whistling is essentially the German way of booing). In the 2nd period, Nürnberg was much better, with some period of sustained pressure. However, Frankfurt showed discipline and held the win.

Düsseldorf looked crap against Karlsruhe, basically continuing after their cup fiasco in Würzburg. KSC pretty much did whatever they wanted, and easily got an important road win.

Braunschweig disappointed, but mainly because they didn’t rise to the occasion. The match at Kaiserslautern was clearly the top attraction of the round, and both teams could be considered contenders. So it’s disappointing in the sense that Braunschweig struck immediately, and then went to sleep. They conceded an equalizer only a few minutes later, but basically just wandered around aimlessly. Only when they finally realized that they were losing did they begin to show initiative, and then it was too late. Good win for FCK, but hardly impressive.

Greuther Fürth was another disappointment. After crushing FCN last week, they certainly looked like they were ready to return to the Bundesliga. But then they look lame in a Bavarian regional clash against nearby Ingolstadt, and get totally owned. The host Schanzer dominated from start to finish, Greuther looked like they didn’t want to be there. (OK, probably nobody wants to be in Ongolstadt, not even FCI fans, but at least you could give some effort before you head back to the train station). Ingolstadt toyed with the visitors before finally realizing they were nothing, and coasted home to a win.

A first ever Sachsen derby at Leipzig as the RasenBulls took on Aue. The Redballsportler pretty much dominated the game and took an early lead. Erzgebirge tried ahrd, but were clearly inferior and need to go back to the drawing board. So the money bags take over the lead in the 2.Liga and certainly look a reasonable contender for promotion.

St.Pauli has beens truggling at home – they hadn’t won since March last season – but fan support remains strong, despite a relatively ho-hum opponent. However, the Paulistas once again looked nervous and tentative, whereas Sandhausen was generally playing much better. In the end, it was with some luck that the home side pulled out the win.

Exciting match in Heidenheim, as both teams went for the win. FCH had a slight edge, and probably created enough chances to win, but they also need GK Zimmermann to stop a penalty by 1860’s Okotie. After some lackluster performances, the München side can take away some positives from their energetic play.

Darmstadt got another win, and have started nicely. In fact, they’d probably be happy if the season ended today and return to the Bundesliga :)
They must be counting their lucky stars, as a couple of years ago, they were relegated to the 4th division, but were saved because Kickers Offenbach’s management failed their bookeeping class. With that reprieve, they managed to reach a playoff spot in the 3.Liga, and stunned Bielefeld on away goals to jump to the 2.Liga. They certainly have a good chance of staying up, especially if they grab points. Aalen actually looked the better team over wide stretches, but Darmstadt got the goals when needed.

Monday night had Bochum hosting Union Berlin. The hard fought match ended in a draw, both teams have looked reasonable so far, but have lacked the killer instinct to get the points.

Total attendance 197,805 (avg 21,978), sellout in Heidenheim

FC St. Pauli	     -   SV Sandhausen	        2:1 (1:1)   26,581

                    1:0  Nöthe (5., Budimir)
                    1:1  Gartler (23., Pfertzel)
                    2:1  L. Sobiech (90. + 2)

1. FC Heidenheim     -   1860 München	        2:2 (0:1)   13,000 *

                    0:1  Okotie (13.)
                    1:1  Niederlechner (51., Leipertz)
                    2:1  Griesbeck (55., Heise)
                    2:2  Leonardo (66.)

RB Leipzig	     -   Erzgebirge Aue	        1:0 (1:0)   34,273

                    1:0  Frahn (3., A. Jung)

1. FC Nürnberg	     -   FSV Frankfurt	        0:1 (0:1)   26,856

                    0:1  Balitsch (29., Grifo)

Fortuna Düsseldorf   -   Karlsruher SC	        0:2 (0:1)   30,278

                    0:1  Gulde (19., Traut)
                    0:2  Yabo (65., Torres)

1. FC Kaiserslautern -   Eintr. Braunschweig	2:1 (1:1)   33,289

                    0:1  Kruppke (3., Theuerkauf)
                    1:1  Matmour (11., Lakic)
                    2:1  Lakic (53., penalty, Matmour)

FC Ingolstadt 04     -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth	2:0 (0:0)    8,021

                    1:0  Leckie (62., Lex)
                    2:0  P. Groß (81., Leckie)

SV Darmstadt 98	     -   VfR Aalen	        2:0 (0:0)    9,200

                    1:0  Behrens (59., Stroh-Engel)
                    2:0  Stroh-Engel (71., penalty, Gondorf)
 
VfL Bochum	     -   1. FC Union Berlin	1:1 (0:0)   16,307

                    0:1  Brandy (49., Schönheim)
                    1:1  Terodde (69., Tasaka)
 	


 1  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N)	3    2 	1  0 	  4:0 	+4 	  7 
 2  SV Darmstadt 98 (N)	  	3    2 	1  0 	  5:2 	+3 	  7
-------------------------------------------------------------------		
 3  Karlsruher SC	  	3    2 	1  0 	  5:2 	+3 	  7
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  1. FC Kaiserslautern	3    2 	1  0 	  6:4 	+2 	  7 
 5  VfL Bochum	  	        3    1 	2  0 	  7:3 	+4 	  5 
 6  FC Ingolstadt 04	  	3    1 	2  0 	  5:3 	+2 	  5 
 7  Eintracht Braunschweig (A)	3    1 	1  1 	  6:4 	+2 	  4 		
 8  SpVgg Greuther Fürth	3    1 	1  1 	  6:4 	+2 	  4 
 9  VfR Aalen	  	        3    1 	1  1 	  2:2 	 0 	  4 
10  FC St. Pauli	  	3    1 	1  1 	  3:4 	-1 	  4 
11  1. FC Heidenheim (N)	3    1 	1  1 	  4:6 	-2 	  4 
12  1. FC Union Berlin	  	3    0 	3  0 	  2:2 	 0 	  3 
13  FSV Frankfurt	  	3    1 	0  2 	  4:5 	-1 	  3 
14  1. FC Nürnberg (A)	  	3    1 	0  2 	  2:6 	-4 	  3 
15  Fortuna Düsseldorf	  	3    0 	2  1 	  3:5 	-2 	  2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
16  SV Sandhausen	  	3    0 	1  2 	  2:4 	-2 	  1
-------------------------------------------------------------------
17  1860 München	  	3    0 	1  2 	  4:8 	-4 	  1 
18  Erzgebirge Aue	  	3    0 	0  3 	  1:7 	-6 	  0


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

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