Bundesliga 2, Matchday 12 overview: Dropped points for Hannover, Paderborn, Fortuna, Karlsruhe and Hamburg
There were further twists in the promotion race as the top five all failed to win. Elsewhere, Cologne, Schalke and resurgent Darmstadt took the spoils...
Elversberg 3-1 Hannover
Goals: 1-0 Baum 10’, 2-0 Asllani 45’+5, 3-0 Damar 48’, 3-1 Tresoldi 90’+1
A dominant display from Elversberg saw them coast to an impressive 3-1 victory over league leaders Hannover. They took an early lead when Elias Baum's powerful first-time shot found the bottom corner before doubling their advantage deep into first-half stoppage time courtesy of Fisnik Asllani's turn and shot. The hosts, who scored a third right after the break as Damar rounded off a nice move, controlled the game well - it took the guests 77 minutes to register their first shot on target. Nicolas Tresoldi scored a consolation late on, but Hannover ultimately missed the opportunity to increase the gap at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, a great performance from Horst Steffen’s side takes them up to sixth in the table.
Eintracht Braunschweig 3-1 Hamburg
Goals: 1-0 Philippe 35', 2-0 Di Michele Sanchez 49'. 3-0 Philippe 65', 3-1 Poręba 73'
Braunschweig climbed out of the bottom two while denying Hamburg the chance to go top overnight with a trio of splendid strikes. After Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer missed a big early chance for the visitors, Johan Gómez was presented with the opportunity to put Eintracht in front from the spot - but the American had his penalty saved. Rayan Philippe then grabbed the lead before the break with a neat solo move, before Fabio Di Michele Sanchez smashed home a loose ball for the second. Philippe completed his brace with a thunderous drive, before Łukasz Poręba grabbed a goal back for Hamburg. The visitors continually created chances - 24 in total - but an outstanding series of saves from Marko Johansson helped secure the big win.
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Fortuna Dusseldorf 1-1 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Lundal Fridriksson (o.g. 61’), 1-1 Götze (o.g. 90’+5)
Billed as a top-of-the-table clash, second-placed Paderborn travelled to Düsseldorf in third, with the winner earning the top spot, at least until Hannover's meeting with Elversberg. The first half came and went without much action; neither side wanted to over commit so as to not get caught on the counter-attack, and they spent much of the first 45 sizing each other up. The second half started more promisingly; Düsseldorf showing more attacking intent and dominating possession. But Paderborn took the lead first thanks to Bilbija shot taking a huge deflection off Lundal Fridriksson. Düsseldorf showed resilience to fight back, though, and they were ultimately given a lifeline late on with a calamitous own goal from Paderborn.
Cologne 1-0 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Downs (90'+4)
Damion Downs' last-minute winner secured all three points for Cologne against Greuther Fürth at the RheinEnergieSTADION. In a game with just two shots on target, the hosts were more dangerous and even hit the bar through Leart Paqarada before Downs headed home in the fourth minute of injury time. The Billy Goats have now registered three successive clean sheets in all competitions and move into the top half of the table, while the visitors have won just one of their previous nine matches.
Goals: 1-0 Zivzivadze 37', 1-1 Frenkert 90'+2
Julian Krahl starred with five massive saves to claim a point for Kaiserslautern against Miroslav Klose’s Nuremberg. The 24-year-old former RB Leipzig prodigy was a one-man show in the first five minutes of the clash and produced a finger-tip save to stop Stefanos Tzimas. Krahl's heroics gave Kaiserslautern the platform to even things out in the second period, and with big chances for both sides it was a shock that this one ended level.
Darmstadt 3-1 Hertha Berlin
Goals: 0-1 Niederlechner 21', 1-1 Förster 45'+2, 2-1 Lidberg 65', 3-1 A. Müller 80'
Darmstadt came from behind to defeat Hertha Berlin on home turf. Florian Niederlechner slotted home midway through the first half, but that was as good as it got for the visitors as Darmstadt netted three without reply in response. First, Philipp Förster equalised with a deflected free-kick on the brink of half-time before Isac Lidberg headed home around the hour mark. Andreas Müller secured the win late on to extend Darmstadt's unbeaten run to nine matches. Hertha, meanwhile, have now suffered back-to-back losses as they lose ground on the promotion spots.
Schalke 2-0 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Karaman 16', 2-0 Sylla 53'
Schalke moved out of the relegation zone as they beat bottom club Jahn Regensburg in their first win under Kees van Wonderen. The hosts were dominant throughout and broke the deadlock through captain Kenan Karaman shortly after the quarter-hour mark before Moussa Sylla double their advantage after the interval. Regensburg, who were passive until they were forced to come out of their shell after falling two behind, struggled to cause their opponents any problems and remain on just seven points. Schalke, meanwhile, move up to 14th after this important triumph.
Magdeburg 0-0 Ulm
Red card: Strompf 87'
Magdeburg failed to win for a fifth consecutive match as they were held to a goalless draw by Ulm at home. The hosts were dominant throughout, registering eight shots on target compared to their opponents' one, but were unable to break the deadlock even after Philipp Stromp was sent off after receiving a late second yellow. The result is a big one for Ulm, who are now unbeaten in their past three.
Watch: The top 5 goals from Matchday 12
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