Turbulent start for Bundesliga relegated Arminia Bielefeld in the 2nd division. The East Westphalians suffered a defeat in Sandhausen and Coach Forte was in the stands early on. The co-favorites Nuremberg and Fürth also dropped points.
Two favorites were caught off guard right at the start. At the start of the second Bundesliga season, the two relegated teams, Arminia Bielefeld and SpVgg Greuther Fürth, had to accept unexpected point losses. East Westphalia lost 2-1 to SV Sandhausen, Fürth only managed a 2-2 draw against Holstein Kiel. 1. FC Nürnberg, one of the aspirants for promotion, had imagined the start differently and lost 2:3 at FC St. Pauli.
It was a used day in Sandhausen for the people from Bielefeld. First the new coach Uli Forte saw the red card (44th minute) because of a delay in the game, then newcomer Silvan Sidler had to leave the field prematurely with yellow-red. “The referee said I had provoked a delay in the game. I was totally taken aback, I just wanted to catch the ball and then it rolled into the field,” Forte explained the strange dismissal after a second ball was in play. In the end there was a 2-1 defeat due to a brace from Sandhausen’s David Kinsombi (11’/63′).
St. Pauli demonstrates home strength again
Julian Green (48′) and Timothy Tillmann (76′) scored for Fürth after Kiel’s Timo Becker was 1-0 down, but a penalty converted by Alexander Mühling (80′) spoiled the Bundesliga relegated team’s start in the second division. Darmstadt 98, who still had good prospects in the promotion race last season, ended the season’s premiere game at Jahn Regensburg after receiving a yellow-red card against Patric Pfeiffer outnumbered and lost 2-0 in the 15th of last season.
FC St. Pauli, on the other hand, maintained their home strength from last season and extended the good series against Nürnberg. The Kiez-Kicker, who lost only once in 14 second division home games to the Franks, came to a 3-2 victory. Jackson Irvine (24th), Leart Paqarada (37th / penalty kick) and Lukas Daschner (39th) scored the goals for the hosts to make it 3-0. Valentini’s goal to make it 2:3 in added time came too late for the “Cluberer”.
Kaiserslautern is back with a last-minute win
Promoted 1. FC Kaiserslautern already caused a surprise on Friday evening when it returned to the 2nd division. In front of more than 40,000 spectators, the Palatinate celebrated a 2-1 win over Hannover 96 in injury time. Kevin Kraus scored the winning goal. “We committed ourselves to this game with every fiber of our being and really wanted to prove that we can keep up in the 2nd division,” said FCK coach Dirk Schuster.
