Hamburg returned to top spot with a big win in Darmstadt, while a draw between Cologne, who suffered a setback in the battle for promotion, and Regensburg – now relegated to the 3. Liga – could have big ramifications. Elsewhere, Magdeburg’s hopes of gaining promotion suffered a major blow on Friday when they were thrashed by relegation-threatened Preußen Münster.
Matchday 32 fixtures and results
Friday 2 May
Schalke 0-2 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Obermair (40’) 0-2 Mehlem (48 ')
Without a win in their last three, the Royal Blues welcomed a Paderborn side who were looking to keep their promotion hopes alive. Schalke started brightly, but the visitors grew as the first half went on, taking the lead through Raphael Obermair, who reacted quickest to a rebound. The hosts’ hopes of a comeback were swiftly squashed after the restart thanks to Marvin Mehlem’s calm finish. Paderborn then sat back and looked to hurt Schalke on the counter-attack, but despite numerous chances, it remained 2-0.
Magdeburg 0-5 Prussia Münster
Goals: 0-1 Hendrix (12′), 0-2 Lorenz (15′), 0-3 Lorenz (43′), 0-4 Man (52 '), 0-5 Kyereaed (54 ')
Münster interim coach Christian Pander got off to a flying start as his relegation-threatened side caused a major upset on Friday night, producing a clinical display to hammer promotion hopefuls Magdeburg. A pair of quickfire doubles early in each half left Magdeburg reeling and paved the way for three much-needed points that offer renewed hope of escaping the drop this season.
Saturday 3 May (1pm CEST)
Darmstadt 0-4 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Reis 23′, 0-2 Königsdörffer 58′, 0-3 Selke 80 ', 0-4 Glatzel 90 '+5
Hamburg struck a massive blow in their bid for promotion to the Bundesliga, dismantling hosts Darmstadt in a match that was far more hotly contested than the big scoreline suggests. The more dangerous side in the early stages, Darmstadt saw Hamburg force their way back into the match with some clinical finishing – notably from corners – and turn it into a dominant performance. The Red Shorts go provisionally back into top spot, piling the pressure on main rivals Cologne ahead of their Matchday 32 clash later on Saturday.
Eintracht Braunschweig 2-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 1-0 Jaeckel 22′, 1-1 Gavory 47′, 2-1 Philippe 52′, 2-2 Zimmerman 72′
Undefeated in their last four (three wins), Braunschweig have been waging an incredible campaign to break clear of the bottom three, but a second successive draw sees them stuck just three points clear of the relegation play-off spot in 15th. In an intense encounter, the Lions twice took the lead – and Fortuna twice levelled it – leaving the hosts ruing the missed chances that could have converted their valiant performance into a precious win. Düsseldorf do well wit the point won, climbing to provisional fifth, just two points shy of third.
Ulm 1-2 Hannover
Goals: 0-1 Gaal 28′ own-goal, 1-1 Telalovic 51 ', 1-2 Knight 67′
Things just wouldn’t go right for Ulm at home to Hannover, a first-half own-goal setting the relegation-threatened hosts on the back foot before a penalty miss saw them fail to take the lead. Even when Hannover had play the final 20 minutes a man down following Boris Tomiak’s red card, Ulm couldn’t cancel out Josh Knight’s winner and Robert Lechleiter’s had to lump a galling defeat that sends them down to 17th. Meanwhile, the win was a huge blessing for promotion-chasing Hannover, who jump a place to provisional seventh, just three points off third and the promotion play-offs.
Cologne 1-1 Jahn Regensburg
Goals: 1-0 Lemperle 59′, 1-1 Ganaus 76 '
Cologne’s hopes of an immediate return to the Bundesliga suffered a blow as rock-bottom Jahn Regensburg held them to a 1-1 draw. The Billy-Goats dominated the first half in terms of possession, but struggled to create clear-cut opportunities. After the interval, though, Tim Lemperle struck his 10th league goal of the season to give Cologne a crucial lead. Still, Regensburg didn’t give up and equalised through Noah Ganaus’ close-range effort. Effzeh remain in the top two but have seen their lead over third reduced, while Regensburg have now been officially relegated to the 3. Liga.
Sunday 4 May (1.30pm CEST)
Karlruhe 2-2 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 1-0 Ben Farhat 10 ', 1-1 Elvedi 31 ', 2-1 Jung 58′, 2-2 Hanslik 64′
A fierce first half started with the hosts taking the lead through Louey Ben Farhat, after Kaiserslautern had the better of the opening exchanges. Karlsruhe then built on the goal, penning Lautern back in the following minutes. Torsten Lieberknecht’s men soon got back on their feet and equalised with a rare Jan Elvedi goal, meaning the sides went in level at the break. Lautern’s hard work to get back into the game was undone by Sebastian Jung in the second half, but the visitors were quick to respond, with Daniel Hanslik levelling almost immediately in a high-tempo derby game. The game fizzled out soon after, with both promotion chasing sides having to share the points.
Hertha Berlin 1-0 Greuther Fürth
Goal: 1-0 Reese 16′
Fürth’s battle to beat the drop got even tighter after a timid display away to Hertha saw them fail to collect any points on Matchday 32. An early goal from Fabian Reese proved enough to decide the match and stretch Hertha’s unbeaten run to seven matches, while Fürth, now winless in eight, will need to turn things around against high-flying Hannover – and then leaders Hamburg – if they are to make sure of maintaining their three-point buffer over the bottom three.
Nuremberg 1-3 Elversberg
Goals: 1-0 Antiste 44 ', 1-1 Baum 52′, 1-2 Baum 63′, 1-3 Zimmerschied 79 '
Elversberg ended Nuremberg’s hopes of promotion, while also significantly boosting their own, with a crucial away victory. Nuremberg had taken the lead through Janis Antiste’s overhead kick shortly before half-time. However, after the restart, Elias Baum netted twice in 11 minutes to turn the game on its head. Zimmerschied then scored in the final quarter-hour to secure the points and move Elversberg up until third place, just three points adrift of Cologne in second.
Watch: The top 5 goals on Matchday 31
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