2nd league: Fortuna Düsseldorf wins against 1. FC Nürnberg

Düsseldorf –

Fortuna’s dream of promotion lives on! After the 3-1 victory against 1. FC Nürnberg on Sunday afternoon, March 7th, the Düsseldorf team shortened the gap to the relegation place to four points – at least until the game of Hamburger SV against Holstein Kiel on Monday evening.

• Kenan Karaman heads the post from five meters
• Thomas Pledl has to go out injured
• First goal of the season by Andre Hoffmann

Coach Uwe Rösler took an offensive against the “clubbers”. Although goalscorer Rouwen Hennings first had to press the bench, Kristoffer Peterson and Thomas Pledl were aggressive.

Coach favorite Kenan Karaman and Dawid Kownacki were allowed to run in the storm.

But then Marcel Sobottka had the first big chance, who volleyed completely free from 15 meters, but did not hit the ball properly (5th). Fortuna got off to a lively start, shifting the game directly to the Nuremberg half. The guests still had a great opportunity to take the lead after a free kick: Georg Margreitter’s touch-down header hit the crossbar after Kastenmeier’s parade.

Nuremberg then came into play better after a quarter of an hour, better freed themselves from the Düsseldorf pressing. Fortuna was lucky that Mats Möller Deahli didn’t use it to make it 1-0 after a nice combination (22nd).

Fortuna Düsseldorf with many inaccuracies

The Rösler-Elf now played too imprecisely, passport and coordination errors lined up. It was only shortly before half-time that the attacks became more structured again. Then the first unbelievable Karaman scene: A deflected Peterson shot landed at the Turkish national striker, who only headed the ball to the post from five meters (40th).

To Karaman’s honor: He couldn’t get his head completely behind the ball. Still: It actually had to be inside!

After the break, Andre Hoffmann showed how to do it. Thomas Pledl crossed wonderfully into the penalty area with his weak left foot, Hoffmann prevailed robustly against the Nuremberg defenders and nodded to the 1-0 lead (48th). It was the center-back’s first goal of the season.

Fortuna now began to just manage the leadership instead of actively looking for the way forward. And Karaman finally helped Nuremberg with a momentous loss of the ball 30 meters from their own goal. The ball landed at Dennis Borkowski, Kevin Danso defended too passively and it was 1: 1 (63.).

Very bitter: Pledl had to get out injured after a duel a quarter of an hour before the final whistle and could no longer put any strain on his heavily bandaged left leg. Serious knee injury is suspected.

Marcel Sobottka ensures Fortuna’s victory

But Fortuna did not let the shock get them down: The substitute for Pledl Brandon Borrello served Sobottka, who took the ball directly from 18 meters and converted it into the left corner – 2: 1 (77th).

A few minutes later, after some great preparatory work by Kownacki and Florian Hartherz, Hennings, who was also substituted, had a huge chance of 3: 1 – but he failed with a loose lob on Christian Mathenia in the Clubb goal.

But it was enough for Fortuna. Since a counterattack brought the 3: 1. After Rouwen Hennings hit the post, Nuremberg’s Oliver Sorg slipped into the ball and maneuvered the ball over the line with an own goal. “We knew about the importance of the game,” said Hoffmann. “The mentality was right, that was a victory of the will.”

At SV Sandhausen this coming Saturday (1 p.m.) the hope of advancement should get more food.

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