Tom Rothe's golden goal for Holstein Kiel against Hamburg kept them top of the table with four games to go. - © Joern Pollex

2. Bundesliga

Bundesliga 2, Matchday 30: Kiel win in Hamburg, St. Pauli bounce back at Hannover

22.04.2024

Steffen Baumgart's Hamburg lost touch with the promotion play-off spot following a home reverse against league leaders Holstein Kiel, while second-placed St. Pauli returned to winning ways in Hannover.

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Hannover 1-2 St. Pauli
Goals: 0-1 Afolayan 41', 1-1 Gindorf 45', 1-2 Eggestien 65'

Pauli got back to winning ways following successive losses, with victory at Hannover all but ending home hopes of promotion for this season. The Kiezkicker hit the front at the Heinz von Heiden Arena when Oladapo Afolayan headed in Connor Metcalfe's centre shortly before the break. However, Hannover bounced back almost immediately, Lars Gindorf converting from close range for his first goal for the club. Yet with the Boys in Brown desperate to recover from recent woes and stay in touch with Kiel at the league summit, they gave their automatic promotion chances a huge shot in the arm when Johannes Eggestein netted the winning goal from a set piece.

Karlsruhe 3-2 Hertha Berlin
Goals: 1-0 Thiede 16', 1-1 Tabaković 23', 2-1 Matanović 45', 3-1 Wanitzek 77', 3-2 Tabaković 87'

Karlsruhe are rapidly running out of games to make it to the play-off, but the fifth-placed side are nonetheless ending their season strongly with victory over Hertha making it just one loss in nine for Christian Eichner's side. They twice led in the first half, goals from Marco Thiede and Igor Matanović coming either side of Haris Tabaković's leveller for Hertha. Marvin Wanitzek put daylight between the teams with a shot into the corner from the edge of the area, while Tabaković netted his second to set up an exciting finale. The result sees Hertha drop to seventh, two points behind their victors here.

Hansa Rostock 0-2 Magdeburg
Goals: 0-1 Schuler 18', 0-2 Heber 40'

Magdeburg can breathe a little more easily after this victory at the Ostseestadion, but their opponents are left in the thick of the relegation picture having fallen to a third loss in four games. Luca Schuler and Daniel Heber did the damage for the visitors in the first half, with the home side's failure to recover meaning they are third from bottom, just a point above Kaiserslautern. Magdeburg move up to 12th, five points above the relegation play-off place.

Hamburg 0-1 Holstein Kiel
Goals: 0-1 Rothe 59'
Red card: Holtby 73'

Kiel made it six wins on the bounce to consolidate their position as league leaders and promotion favourites with just four games remaining. Tom Rothe's opportunistic strike in the second half left Hamburg six points adrift of the play-off spot and with a big fight on their hands in the season's closing chapter. The home fans' frustrations were keenly felt as their side failed to find a way through against a Kiel team that were reduced to 10 when Lewis Holtby was ordered off for a second yellow with 17 minutes to play.

Nuremberg 0-2 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Grimaldi 10', 0-2 Musliu 61'

Paderborn all but secured their Bundesliga 2 status for another season thanks to an away victory in Nuremberg on Friday evening. Adriano Grimaldi opened the scoring for the visitors in the 10th minute from Filip Bilbija’s pass, and although Nuremberg tried to fight back and were the better side for long periods, they lacked the killer instinct in the final third. As such, Visar Musliu’s header from a corner just after the hour mark was enough to cement Paderborn’s place in mid-table, leaving Nuremberg only narrowly above the drop zone.

Elversberg 1-1 Schalke
Goals: 1-0 Le Joncour 18', 1-1 Topp 59'

Elversberg were left frustrated at being held to a 1-1 draw by Schalke on Friday evening after dominating for much of the match. The visitors had the first chance of the game when Kenan Karaman curled an effort onto the bar in the sixth minute, but the hosts responded well and took the lead when Florian Le Joncour nodded in from a free-kick a short while later. Schalke began brightly after the interval and found an equaliser through Keke Topp midway through the half. They were forced onto the back foot after that, but some resolute defending – and the woodwork – ensured them a share of the points at the final whistle.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-0 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 1-0 Vermeij (69')

A sixth win on the spin for Fortuna Düsseldorf kept them third heading into the final weeks of the campaign. Vincent Vermeij’s second-half effort claimed all three points for Daniel Thioune’s team, who haven’t lost in the league since Matchday 20. If they can keep collecting wins in the coming weeks, their penultimate game of the season against Kiel could end up proving decisive in the promotion race.

Kaiserslautern 1-1 Wehen Wiesbaden
Goals: 1-0 Kaloc (30'), 1-1 Prtajin (74')

Neither side could take full advantage of a relegation six-pointer on Saturday afternoon as Kaiserslautern and Wiesbaden had to settle for a point apiece. Lautern took the lead through Filip Kaloc after half an hour and looked to be heading to victory until Ivan Prtajin struck with quarter of an hour to play. The result leaves Kaiserslautern second from bottom, two points back from Wehen, who just about remain out of the drop zone.

Osnabrück 0-3 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Donkor (9‘), 0-2 Philippe (20’), 0-3 Gómez (60')

Braunschweig chalked up a third win in their last five matches to open up a three-point gap to the bottom three and boost their survival hopes even further on Saturday. Goals from Anton Donkor and Rayan Philippe had all-but wrapped up the points by half-time before Johan Gómez made sure with half an hour to play. Defeat leaves Osnabrück on the brink of relegation, now seven points adrift of the relegation play-off place, with just 12 points left to play for.