Fortuna Düsseldorf - SV Wehen Wiesbaden 1:3 (0:3)
Fortuna Düsseldorf caught off guard by promoted team
The goal factory is on strike: After scoring 14 goals in the last three competitive matches, Fortuna Düsseldorf largely stopped producing goals and lost touch with leaders FC St. Pauli in the 2nd Bundesliga. The runners-up in the table surprisingly lost 3:1 (0:3) to promoted SV Wehen Wiesbaden and could be knocked out of the promotion places at the weekend. Hyun-Ju Lee (10'), Amar Catic (26') and John Iredale (42', penalty) gave the visitors a clear lead before the break, with Yannik Engelhardt (79') reducing the deficit in the closing stages. Wiesbaden, unbeaten in four games and conceding just one goal, improved to seventh place for the time being.
Fortuna, who had to replace the injured striker Vincent Vermeij after just a few minutes, looked tired three days after the 6-3 extra-time win in the DFB Cup at third-division club SpVgg Unterhaching and allowed themselves to be caught out: Thijmen Goppel broke through on the right and Lee finished his pass with his toe to give the visitors the lead. Before the 0:2, Iredale passed the ball to Catic on the left and his opponent Jamil Siebert slipped.
In between, Wiesbaden goalkeeper Florian Stritzel prevented a possible Düsseldorf equalizer with a foot save against Jona Niemiec (16'). Iredale only converted the penalty at the second attempt, which was awarded by referee Florian Heft following a foul by Christos Tzolis on Robin Heußer. The Australian first hit the post. However, Heft had the penalty retaken after the video assistant intervened because Düsseldorf players had entered the penalty area too early.
SV Elversberg - FC St. Pauli 0:2 (0:2)
FC St. Pauli remain the measure of all things in impressive style. Fabian Hürzeler's ruthless team won confidently 2:0 (2:0) at SV Elversberg, who have been in strong form of late, and remained unbeaten in their twelfth game of the season. With 26 points, the Kiezkickers consolidated their lead in the table and at least temporarily increased the gap to the relegation places to five points. Johannes Eggestein (16) scored in front of 10,150 spectators for the sixth competitive game in a row, before Marcel Hartel (31) extended the lead. Elversberg had previously gone seven league games unbeaten in a row, winning five of them. With 18 points after twelve matchdays, the Saarland side are still on target to stay in the league.
St. Pauli took command from the outset despite extra time three days earlier in their cup win over Schalke (2-1), Eggestein nodding a corner from Hartel into the corner completely unmarked. SVE then played a little better and showed good offensive approaches - but the league leaders remained more dangerous. First Nicolas Kristof was able to steer Eggestein's header onto the post (26'), then Hartel scored fantastically with the help of the bottom edge of the crossbar from 16 meters. After the changeover, the often inaccurate Saarlanders increased the risk, but the best defense in the league withstood the pressure well. St. Pauli now largely confined themselves to managing the game, but hit the crossbar twice more through Oladapo Afolayan (68') and Etienne Amenyido (84').
Despite their impressive form, scoring 14 goals in the last three matches, Fortuna Düsseldorf's goal factory seemed to take a break in their Bundesliga 2 match against SV Wehen Wiesbaden. FC St. Pauli, on the other hand, continued their dominance, beating SV Elversberg 2-0 and maintaining their unbeaten run in the league.
Source: www.ntv.de
