The promotion and relegation races couldn’t get much hotter.
Werder Bremen II - VfL Osnabrück 0:2 (0:2) 1,132 SV Sandhausen - VfB Stuttgart II 1:0 (0:0) 4,490 Preußen Münster - 1. FC Saarbrücken 1:0 (0:0) 6,121 1. FC Heidenheim - Wacker Burghausen 1:1 (1:0) 8,100 SpVgg Unterhaching - Jahn Regensburg 2:3 (1:2) 1,450 Chemnitzer FC - SV Wehen Wiesbaden 1:1 (0:0) 5,800 Carl Zeiss Jena - SV Darmstadt 98 2:1 (2:1) 4,547 SV Babelsberg 03 - VfR Aalen 2:0 (1:0) 1,820 Sunday: Kickers Offenbach - Rot-Weiß Erfurt 2:0 (1:0) 6,299 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen - Arminia Bielefeld 0:1 (0:1) 6,135 1 SV Sandhausen 35 18 9 8 53:37 +16 63 2 VfR Aalen 35 17 9 9 46:36 +10 60 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Chemnitzer FC (N) 35 15 10 10 47:37 +10 55 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Jahn Regensburg 35 14 12 9 51:39 +12 54 5 Wacker Burghausen 35 12 18 5 50:40 +10 54 6 1. FC Heidenheim 35 14 11 10 42:34 +8 53 7 Kickers Offenbach 35 14 10 11 44:35 +9 52 8 Rot-Weiß Erfurt 35 12 14 9 46:40 +6 50 9 VfL Osnabrück (A) 35 12 13 10 40:33 +7 49 10 1. FC Saarbrücken 35 11 14 10 54:47 +7 47 11 Preußen Münster (N) 35 11 14 10 37:38 -1 47 12 VfB Stuttgart II 35 11 12 12 39:43 -4 45 13 Arminia Bielefeld (A) 35 10 14 11 48:55 -7 44 14 SV Darmstadt 98 (N) 35 10 12 13 42:44 -2 42 15 SpVgg Unterhaching 35 11 8 16 56:53 +3 41 16 SV Wehen Wiesbaden 35 9 13 13 37:45 -8 40 17 SV Babelsberg 03 35 10 10 15 40:54 -14 40 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (A) 35 8 14 13 32:40 -8 38 19 Carl Zeiss Jena 35 8 11 16 36:56 -20 35 20 Werder Bremen II 35 4 10 21 29:63 -34 22
Huge win for Babelsberg as they dump co-leaders Aalen and continue the fierce struggle against relegation. Dominik Stroh-Engel (“Straw Angel”) notched both goals in a hotly contested match. Aalen couldn’t get a grip on the desperately fighting Potsdamers, who deservedly take the points. Sandhausen had a hard fought win over Stuttgart II, and continue at the top. This just about assures SVS is getting promoted.
Big match in Heidenheim with Burghausen ended in a draw. (What else? The 3.Liga has more ties than any other league, and Burghausen is the king, 18 draws already! Overall the 3.Liga has about 34% draws, the 2.Liga 29%, and the Bundesliga only 27%)
Chemnitz barely holds on to the coveted 3rd position, but they struggled at home to Wehen. The villagers are struggling against relegation and gave a solid performance, having CFC on the ropes for much of the match.
Jena isn’t quite dead yet. A desperate effort in a relegation battle with Darmstadt ended in a win, but it was very nerve racking. After a good first half giving them the lead, Jena had to hold off Darmstadt for 40 minutes a man down to preserve the required win. 5 points from safety is quite a hurdle, but at least they’re still mathematically alive.
Big win for Offenbach, who swap places with Erfurt. This keeps the Kickers in touch for 3rd, but pretty much ends Erfurt’s hope. RWE was very weak, especially in the 1st half, so they shouldn’t complain.
A fiercely contested match between two of the “Bundesliga-skandal” clubs of the early 70’s ends with Bielefeld getting a massive win. Manuel Hornig got the goal that allowed Arminia to kidnap the points. Oberhausen attacked the Arminia goal non-stop in the 2nd half, but the visitors defense held firm. A crucial defeat for RWO, that leaves them in a relegation spot. Of course, there’s plenty of opportunity to save themselves. They’ve been playing well recently, but it’s a dogfight at the bottom. For Bielefeld, this may be just enough to hold on. That’s a positive thing, since especially early in the season, Arminia was a disaster and looked ready to drop again. They stabilized the ship somewhat and just about look safe.