Holstein Kiel, Fortuna Düsseldorf and SpVgg Greuther Fürth took advantage of the draw in the Hamburg derby and made the promotion fight even more exciting.
The Kiel team won their home game against SV Wehen Wiesbaden 3:2 (2:0) and pushed Hamburger SV out of second place in the table. HSV had drawn 2-2 at league leaders FC St. Pauli in the top game of the 2nd Bundesliga the day before.
Fourth-placed Düsseldorf moved within one point of Hamburg thanks to a 5-0 (3-0) win at 1. FC Nürnberg. Fürth is just behind on points after a 1-0 (1-0) away win against relegation candidate Eintracht Braunschweig. Only four points separate the first and fifth places in the table.
The Kiel team were already 3-0 ahead thanks to a penalty from Steven Skrzybski (19th), Fiete Arp’s third goal of the season (37th) and a goal from Finn Porath. But in the final phase things got exciting again in front of 10,754 spectators when Ivan Prtajin (81./90 3) shortened the score for SV Wehen with a double strike.
Referee change in Nuremberg
The game in Nuremberg had to be interrupted for several minutes in the middle of the first half after referee Richard Hempel was injured. While his calf was being treated, both teams went into the dressing room. Fourth official Assad Nouhoum then took charge of the game, with Hempel switching to Nouhoum’s role on the sidelines.
After the unexpected interruption, the people of Düsseldorf were ice cold. With a hat-trick, the Dutchman Vincent Vermeij (39th minute, 45th 3, 56th/hand penalty), the omini-present Ao Tanaka (41st) and shortly before the end Jona Niemiec (84th) gave Fortuna its fourth away win of the season.
Next defeat for Kaiserslautern
Julian Green secured Fürth’s fifth win in a row with the only goal of the game in the 31st minute from a penalty kick. However, the lead was controversial: Eintracht defender Ermin Bicakcic is said to have fouled Armindo Sieb. The Braunschweig bench with coach Daniel Scherning at the helm protested violently.
Despite parting ways with coach Dirk Schuster, 1. FC Kaiserslautern lost again. There was a clear 1:4 (1:1) defeat at 1. FC Magdeburg. It was the fourth bankruptcy in a row. According to consistent media reports, former professional Dimitrios Grammozis will be the new coach to stop the Palatinate team’s free fall.
