Bundesliga 2, Matchday 7: Hertha Berlin win again to maintain perfect start
Hertha Berlin made it seven wins from seven at the start of the Bundesliga 2 campaign after overcoming Greuther Fürth, while Nuremberg and Wolfsburg shared the spoils in an eight-goal thriller on an action-packed Matchday 7.
Hertha Berlin 2-1 Greuther FürthGoals: 1-0 Pedersen 65’, 2-0 Seguin 80’ 2-1 Heuer 90’
Hertha Berlin maintained their perfect start to the Bundesliga 2 campaign, winning their seventh game in a row to go three points clear of Nuremberg. They were made to work for it, though. After an end-to-end first half, Greuther Fürth’s Omar Sillah saw his effort chalked off before goals from Mads Pedersen and Paul Seguin secured the Old Lady another victory, despite Jannis Heuer’s late strike for the Clover Leaves, who remain winless in four games.
Nuremberg 4-4 Wolfsburg
Goals: 0-1 Wahl 12’, 0-2 Damar 29’, 1-2 Scobel 52’, 2-2 Scobel 59’, 3-2 Zoma 63’, 3-3 Besio 90’+1, 4-3 Masouras 90’+6, 4-4 Besio 90’+9
Promotion rivals Nuremberg and Wolfsburg shared the points in a gripping draw on Saturday. The visitors appeared to be on course for the points after goals from Hauke Wahl and Muhammed Damar put them in front, but the hosts struck three times in the space of 11 second-half minutes to turn the game on its head. Alessio Besio equalised for Wolfsburg in stoppage time, only for Ioannis Masouras to give Nuremberg the lead again a few minutes later. However, Besio had the final word, snatching a point for the Wolves just before the full-time whistle.
St. Pauli 2-0 KarlsruheGoals: 1-0 Ceesay 32’, 2-0 Ritzka 51’
St. Pauli secured their second win of the season after overcoming Karlsruhe. Ben Voll and Hans Christian Bernat were kept busy in each goal, but Pauli eventually found their breakthrough via Abdoulie Ceesay and Lars Ritzka. Lilian Egloff's late effort was chalked off for Karlsruhe, who slipped to a third straight loss.
Magdeburg 3-0 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Kwarteng 3’, 2-0 Iyoha 30’, 3-0 Żukowski 86’
Magdeburg continued their impressive home form with a commanding victory over Hannover, spoiling Sandro Wagner’s debut in the visitors’ dugout. Moritz-Broni Kwarteng gave the hosts a dream start, opening the scoring inside four minutes, before Emmanuel Iyoha doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark. Hannover struggled to find a response, although Marcel Hartel struck the woodwork in the second half. Mateusz Żukowski then put the result beyond doubt with a fine individual effort late on, securing Magdeburg’s third successive home victory.
Darmstadt 3-1 Energie Cottbus
Goals: 0-1 Butler 4’, 1-1 Weißhaupt 36’, 2-1 Vukotić 77’, 3-1 Lührs 88’
Darmstadt came from behind to secure a crucial victory over Energie Cottbus, climbing out of the relegation zone in the process. Justin Butler gave the visitors a dream start, opening the scoring inside four minutes, but Noah Weißhaupt restored parity before the interval. The visitors emerged stronger after the restart, with goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen producing several important saves to keep them level. Aleksandar Vukotić then headed Darmstadt in front in the 77th minute, before Yannik Lührs wrapped up a second successive home victory with a late third.
Eintracht Braunschweig 1-0 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 1-0 Urbich 11’
Jan Urbich scored the only goal of the game in the opening stages against Holstein Kiel to give Eintracht Braunschweig three much-needed points in what was only their second win of the season. The forward had the ball in the net in the third minute, only for it to be disallowed for offside, but he pounced again a short while later to punish a defensive error. The hosts dominated much of the rest of the match against their toothless visitors, albeit without creating much of note themselves in the final third, allowing the Lions to hold on for their first home win of the campaign.
Two of this season’s promotion candidates cancelled each other out on Friday evening in an entertaining Matchday 7 encounter. Kaiserslautern showed exactly why they have the meanest defence in the division this season, with just four goals conceded so far, keeping their hosts at arm’s length throughout. The best chance of the game arrived in the closing stages when Semih Şahin found Jacob Rasmussen with a free-kick, but the defender’s header was kept out by a super reaction save from Thomas Dähne in the Heidenheim goal.
Osnabrück 1-1 Dynamo Dresden
Goals: 0-1 Hauptmann 38’, 1-1 Fabinski 87’
Robin Fabinski’s late equaliser earned Osnabrück a valuable point against Dynamo Dresden in an entertaining encounter at the Bremer Brücke. The visitors enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges and took a deserved lead in the 38th minute when Niklas Hauptmann converted following good work from Jonas Sterner. Dresden looked on course for a much-needed victory, but Osnabrück gradually grew into the contest after the interval. Their persistence was rewarded three minutes from time when Fabinski headed home to rescue a draw, extending Dresden’s winless run.
Bochum 0-1 Arminia BielefeldGoals: 0-1 Boakye 78’
Arminia Bielefeld secured their first away victory of the season courtesy of Benjamin Boakye’s second-half strike. With chances few and far between, it was the visitors who took full advantage when the German converted his chance to inflict successive defeats on Bochum.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 7
