2.Liga, Round 15: Düsseldorf stubs toe

A stunner in Aalen, as the last place side dumped Fortuna Düsseldorf. The Aaleners had the perfect plan: defend like rabid dogs and have swift counterattacks. Fortuna controlled the ball and basically banged their head against the Aalen wall. They had chances, but couldn’t convert, and then got caught with their pants down.

Leaders Ingolstadt had no problems with Bochum, and could have scored even more. The Schanzer showed themselves fully recovered from their first loss, and were all over the visitors like white on rice. Once again a crap performance by Bochum, who had given some indications of turning the corner. Instead they crashed into the wall, and need more driving lessons. Who knows where they end up. With Fortuna getting dumped, Ingolstadt has no worries in that regard: they’ve opened up a slight gap at the top.

Au-weh! It will go down as another St.Pauli defeat, but favored Kaiserslautern struggled to keep the points as the home side threw everything into attack in the 2nd half. They were close to salvaging a point, but a cold-blooded counter finally gave FCK the win. The Red Devils are back in the hunt, and amazingly St.Pauli is in last place. They can’t really complain too much, as they have been the suckiest team, but it’s still surprising, since they expected to challenge. Instead, 3.Liga treasurers are licking their chops for some big crowds next year if the traveling Paulista followings come to town.

Another ho-hum-home result by Greuther Fürth, who struggled against Heidenheim. The guests seemed pretty solid and happy with a point, and the Greuther don’t look a side that could regain Bundesliga status.

A double by Croatian Damir Kreilach gave Union Berlin a massive away win in the relegation battle at Aue. Both sides desperately needed the points, so the battle was hard-fought. Union gets some breathing room, while the noose is tight around Erzgebirge’s neck.

Darmstadt was on their back foot for most of the match against Karlsruhe, and can be happy with a point. I suppose the “Lilies” are happy just being in contention, since it’s probably more than their fan base expected. The match was quite poor, and although KSC was better in the 2nd period, a draw is a fair result.

A big win in München for FSV Frankfurt, as the mini-Hot Dogs dumped 1860. Once again the Lions were all over the place, having no clue, and FSV took advantage. They had to hold on with a bit luck in the 2nd period, but were successful. This is the Bornheimers fourth straight road result, a club record, and gives them a huge boost in the relegation battle. 1860 is back in the toilet, and glancing nervously over their shoulder.

RedBull money will likely eventually prevail, and Leipzig will get promoted. But it doesn’t look like it will be this year – based on this sloppy performance. The Rasenballs showed zilch against a well organized Sandhausen, and were lucky they didn’t lose on a late SVS counter-attack. The Ballsportler are still in the race of course, but RedBull should demand more for their money.

Monday night was a massive clash between rejuvenated Braunschweig and struggling Nürnberg. The home side grabbed a hard-fought victory and have leaped into a promotion spot.

 	
SpVgg Greuther Fürth   -   1. FC Heidenheim	0:0 (0:0)   10,130

Erzgebirge Aue	       -   1. FC Union Berlin	1:2 (0:0)    9,100

                      1:0  Vucur (56., Kortzorg)
                      1:1  Kreilach (77., Polter)
                      1:2  Kreilach (86., Jopek)

SV Darmstadt 98	       -   Karlsruher SC	0:0 (0:0)   15,200

FC Ingolstadt 04       -   VfL Bochum	        3:0 (1:0)    6,779

                      1:0  Mo. Hartmann (24., Leckie)
                      2:0  Hinterseer (67., )
                      3:0  Leckie (89., P. Groß)

VfR Aalen	       -   Fortuna Düsseldorf	2:0 (1:0)    7,107

                      1:0  Quaner (15., Ofosu-Ayeh)
                      2:0  Daghfous (59., Hand penalty)

1860 München	       -   FSV Frankfurt	0:2 (0:1)   13,800

                      0:1  Dedic (44., Kruska)
                      0:2  M. Engels (89., Grifo)

FC St. Pauli	       -   1. FC Kaiserslautern	1:3 (0:2)   23,584

                      0:1  Younes (22., Zimmer)
                      0:2  Zimmer (30., )
                      1:2  Halstenberg (59.)
                      1:3  Jacob (87., Karl)

SV Sandhausen	       -   RasenB. Leipzig	0:0 (0:0)    4,518

Eintracht Braunschweig -   1. FC Nürnberg	1:0 (1:0)   21,515
 	
                      1:0  Nielsen (38., Zuck)
		 


 1  FC Ingolstadt 04 	  	15    8  6  1 	  25:11  +14 	  30 
 2  Eintracht Braunschweig (A) 	15    8  2  5 	  24:17  +7 	  26 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 3  SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 	15    6  7  2 	  20:12  +8 	  25
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 4  Fortuna Düsseldorf 	  	15    6  7  2 	  24:17  +7 	  25
 5  1. FC Kaiserslautern 	15    6  7  2 	  22:16  +6 	  25 
 6  1. FC Heidenheim (N) 	15    6  6  3 	  27:15  +12 	  24 
 7  RasenBallsport Leipzig (N) 	15    6  6  3 	  20:10  +10 	  24 
 8  Karlsruher SC 	  	15    6  6  3 	  20:11  +9 	  24 
 9  SpVgg Greuther Fürth 	15    5  5  5 	  22:22   0 	  20 
10  VfL Bochum 	  	        15    4  7  4 	  24:24   0 	  19 
11  FSV Frankfurt 	  	15    5  3  7 	  20:25  -5 	  18 
12  1. FC Union Berlin 	  	15    4  5  6 	  17:26  -9 	  17 
13  1. FC Nürnberg (A) 	  	15    5  2  8 	  16:25  -10 	  17 
14  SV Sandhausen 	  	15    4  4  7 	  11:21  -10 	  16 
15  1860 München 	  	15    4  3  8 	  19:24  -5 	  15
--------------------------------------------------------------------
16  VfR Aalen 	  	        15    3  4  8 	  12:20  -8 	  13
--------------------------------------------------------------------
17  Erzgebirge Aue 	  	15    3  3  9 	  14:23  -9 	  12 
18  FC St. Pauli 	  	15    3  3  9 	  15:32  -17 	  12

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

A = Absteiger just relegated 
N = Neuling just promoted

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