3.Liga, Round 29: Lots of favorites struggle

Round 29, Mar 13-14

This was not a good round for several of the favored sides that are battling for a promotion spot. Most of the chasing clubs dropped points, which allowed the leaders to open up bigger gaps at teh top. And the bottom sides are desperately fighting, all gathering results in the tough relegation battle.

Stunning scene in Osnabrück. The hosts hadn’t won in seven straight, and the visiting Kickers are battling for promotion. Perhaps VfL let all the frustration of the season out, as they seriously biatch-slapped the Stuttgarters. If the Purples had been playing like this all season – they certainly have the talent – they could have been battling for promotion.

Another favorite swallowed a bitter pill. Erfurt was flying high until they got owned by Kiel. Now they hit rock bottom as they lose at tail-end Regensburg, who already one foot and 4 toes in the Regionalliga. A bitter defeat for Erfurt, who aren’t out of the race, but they would have to climb over at least four clubs. It’s probably too late for Regensburg, as Jahn is 8 points from safety. However, I suppose a couple of quick wins could give them a chance.

Preußen Münster drops back as well, as the Eagles were held by desperate Großaspach. The Preußen can’t complain too bitterly though, as they hardly showed superiority and instead relied on a host gift to grab the lead. A valuable anti-relegation point for Sonnenhof, who float above the drop zone. The Prussians are barely holding on to the promotion playoff spot.

Cottbus has realistic promotion chances, but Energie took one in the gut as they were beaten down by Halle in an eastern derby. The visitors had the lead, but in the 2nd half HFC seized control of the match and overran the defenses of the favored side.

Perhaps they’ve completely fallen out of promotion, but you still expect a lot from Dynamo Dresden. But the easterners failed again, this time losing at Mainz-II, who are desperately fighting against relegation.

Duisburg remains hot in the race, although they weren’t overly impressive against a lame Unterhaching side. The visitors rarely ventured outside their own half, so the Zebras really just waited for a mistake to get the points. With others failing, MSV now is now the leader of the chasing pack.

So the “winners” this week were the top sides. Bielefeld had a hard time with Rostock, but the Arminen showed why they’re going up (barring a total collapse they’re through). The hosts didn’t get discouraged by the strong effort from Hansa and eventually broke through for the win.

Kiel also had a huge win, a tough battle at Wehen that their defensive prowess once again carried them through. The win gives them a point advantage over Münster, which had previously only been goal difference.

A sad day in Köln, not because Fortuna was held scoreless by Dortmund-II. Club President Klaus Ulonska died from a heart-attack prior to the match. Ulonska had basically saved the club from collapse, bringing them back to life. After many years of support under Jean Löring, who had brought Fortuna all the way to the Bundesliga, the club had basically fallen on hard times and was on the verge of going under. Ulonska was able to save them and his stewardship – without the massive money input from the Löring days – stabilized the club and sparked this mini-revival.

Total attendance 58,171 (avg 5,817), 32.8% capacity

 	
SV Wehen Wiesbaden  -  	Holstein Kiel	      0:1 (0:1)    2,688
Chemnitzer FC	    -  	VfB Stuttgart II      1:0 (0:0)    4,077
Arminia Bielefeld   -  	Hansa Rostock	      3:2 (1:1)   15,070
Fortuna Köln	    -  	Borussia Dortmund II  0:0 (0:0)    1,840
MSV Duisburg	    -  	SpVgg Unterhaching    1:0 (0:0)   11,322
VfL Osnabrück	    -  	Stuttgarter Kickers   4:1 (4:0)    8,053
Jahn Regensburg	    -  	Rot-Weiß Erfurt	      1:0 (0:0)    2,762
SG S-hof Großaspach -  	Preußen Münster	      1:1 (0:1)    1,900
1. FSV Mainz 05 II  -  	Dynamo Dresden	      1:0 (1:0)    2,433
Hallescher FC	    -  	Energie Cottbus	      3:1 (0:1)    8,026


 1  Arminia Bielefeld (A)	29   18  5  6 	  60:31  +29 	  59 
 2  Holstein Kiel	  	29   14  10 5 	  39:19  +20 	  52
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 3  Preußen Münster 	  	29   14  8  7 	  44:32  +12 	  50
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 4  MSV Duisburg	  	29   13  10 6 	  43:31  +12 	  49 
 5  Stuttgarter Kickers 	29   13  10 6 	  47:36  +11 	  49 
 6  Energie Cottbus (A) 	29   13  8  8 	  37:32  +5 	  47 
 7  Rot-Weiß Erfurt 	  	29   13  7  9 	  41:38  +3 	  46 
 8  SV Wehen Wiesbaden 	  	29   12  6  11 	  44:34  +10 	  42 
 9  Dynamo Dresden (A) 	  	29   11  8  10 	  34:33  +1 	  41 
10  Hallescher FC 	  	29   11  7  11 	  37:38  -1 	  40 
11  Chemnitzer FC 	  	29   11  6  12 	  28:27  +1 	  39 
12  VfL Osnabrück 	  	29   11  6  12 	  42:45  -3 	  39 
13  Fortuna Köln (N) 	  	29   10  8  11 	  32:29  +3 	  38 
14  VfB Stuttgart II 	  	29    9  7  13 	  36:44  -8 	  34 
15  SpVgg Unterhaching 	  	29    8  7  14 	  40:52  -12 	  31 
16  Hansa Rostock 	  	29    8  7  14 	  40:55  -15 	  31 
17  SG Sonnenhof Großaspach (N) 29    7  9  13 	  30:51  -21 	  30
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18  1. FSV Mainz 05 II (N) 	29    7  7  15 	  31:44  -13 	  28 
19  Borussia Dortmund II 	29    4  14 11 	  27:37  -10 	  26 
20  Jahn Regensburg 	  	29    6  4  19 	  32:56  -24 	  22


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

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