Bundesliga 2, Matchday 22 highlights: St. Pauli down Braunschweig, Kiel in close pursuit
Leaders St. Pauli bounced back with a win against Braunschweig to set up a Matchday 23 showdown against a second-placed Holstein Kiel side who hammered Paderborn.
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St. Pauli 1-0 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 1-0 Afolayan 32'
Red card: Saad 67'
The leaders returned to winning ways after last weekend's shock first reverse of the season away to Magdeburg. Despite being reduced to ten men following Elias Saad's sedond yellow card in the 67th minute, the Kiezkicker saw off the previously in-form Braunschweig thanks to Oladapo Afolayan's first-half strike, which was Pauli's first shot on target. The victory sees Fabian Hürzeler's side three points clear of Holstein Kiel at the top, with both sides set to meet in next weekend's showdown at the Holstein-Stadion.
Paderborn 0-4 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 0-1 Porath (16'), 0-2 Skrzybski (33'), 0-3 Schulz (52'), 0-4 Niehoff (90')
Red card: Ens (90')
Holstein Kiel kept up the pressure on St Pauli at the top of Bundesliga 2 with a comfortable 4-0 win at ten-man Paderborn. Finn Porath gave Kiel the lead after a quarter of an hour, and there was no looking back as they asserted their superiority on the game and left Paderborn little hope. They converted their dominance into more goals through Steven Skrzybski and Marvin Schulz before Martin Ens earned his marching orders to leave the hosts with ten men. Niklas Niehoff then rubbed salt in their wounds with a fourth for a Kiel side who, with the win, put four points between themselves and third-placed Hamburg.
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Hansa Rostock 2-2 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Dompé (34'), 1-1 Perea (50'), 2-1 Gudjohnsen (82'), 2-2 Glatzel (86')
Hamburg came from behind to snatch a draw at northern rivals Hansa Rostock in a game which came to life in the second half. Jean-Luc Dompé put Hamburg in front, but goals from Juan José Perea and Sveinn Aron Gudjohnsen turned the tables on Hamburg. The hosts had chances to put the game to bed, but were punished when Robert Glatzel struck four minutes from time to earn Hamburg what could prove to be a precious point.
Schalke 1-0 Wehen Wiesbaden
Goal: 1-0 Karaman (60')
Schalke picked up a crucial three points to ease their relegation worries slightly with Kenan Karaman clinching a narrow win over Wehen Wiesbaden. The only goal of the game came from the penalty spot, with Karaman converting after Churlinov was fouled by Vukotić inside the box. In a tense game with few chances at either end, Wiesbaden did too little to trouble the Royal Blues, who closed to within a point of their opponents with the win.
Hannover 2-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 0-1 Sieb (29’) 1-1 Neumann (71’), 2-1 Tresoldi (90’+1)
Hannover maintained their promotion push after coming from behind late on to snatch all three points and leapfrog fellow top-three hopefuls Greuther Fürth in the process. In a match interrupted by fan protests, Fürth took the lead against the run of play thanks to former Bayern Munich academy player Armando Sieb’s smart finish on the turn. The game was a hard-fought affair thereafter but Hannover restored parity in the second half when Phil Neumann headed in from a corner. It appeared to be heading for a draw until 19-year-old forward Nicolò Tresoldi got on the end of a long throw into the box to prod the ball over the line from close range and move two points above the Clover Leaves in the standings.
Hertha Berlin 3-2 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 Atik (22’), 1-1 Reese (pen. 33’), 2-1 P. Dardai (39’), 2-2 Müller (51’), 3-2 Reese (59’)
Sent off: Hugonet (37’)
Hertha Berlin consolidated their spot in mid-table with a hard-fought win over 10-man Magdeburg on Friday evening. The visitors opened the scoring through Baris Atik’s precise finish midway through the first half, but Fabian Reese restored parity from the penalty spot a short while later. Hertha turned the game around a few minutes before half-time after Magdeburg’s Jean Hugonet was sent off for a professional foul. Palko Dardai ensured they were punished for it, curling a beautiful effort into the top corner from the resulting free-kick. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Magdeburg equalised through Tobias Müller’s glancing header early in the second half, but Reese added his second a few minutes later to secure all three points for the hosts.
Karlsruher 2-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Tzolis (37'), 1-1 Gondorf (48'), 1-2 Tzolis (51'), 2-2 Herold (63')
Fortuna Düsseldorf wasted an opportunity to climb to fifth as they twice relinquished the lead in a 2-2 draw at Karlsruher. Christos Tzolis gave Fortuna the lead against the run of play, heading in his 10th goal of the season from close range. Karlsruher responded well and their efforts were rewarded early in the second half when Jérôme Gondorf headed them level. Their joy was short lived, though, as Tzolis' second restored Fortuna's lead within minutes. David Herold's first of the season brought the hosts level again, and they wasted chances to win it too as they dealt Fortuna's promotion hopes a blow.
Nuremberg 1-1 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 0-1 Tachie 34', 1-1 Uzun 64'
Both sides couldn't avoid maintaining their respective winless runs after this draw at the Max-Morlock-Stadion. Deep in trouble at the wrong end of the table, visiting Kaiserslautern looked to have found something of a reprieve when they hit the front after Richmond Tachie converted Kenny Prince Redondo's centre. The mid-table hosts fought back and were level not long after the hour mark, however, Can Uzun finding the corner of the net with a long-range effort.
Elversberg 3-1 Osnabrück
Goals: 1-0 Feil 36', 2-0 Vandermersch 38', 3-0 Wanner 45', 3-1 Gyamfi 52'
Elversberg significantly raised their hopes of remaining in the second tier with a first-class masterclass that left their fellow promoted rivals from 3. Liga stranded at the bottom of the table. A couple of goals in as many minutes from Manuel Feil and Hugo Vandermersch had the hosts cruising, before Bayern Munich loanee Paul Wanner added a third before the break. The 24-year-old Maxwell Gyamfi added a consolation for the visitors after the restart but that did little to help Osnabrück's cause.
Watch: The top 5 goals on Matchday 22 in Bundesliga 2!
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