2. Bundesliga: Conteh haunts former club as Braunschweig edge five-goal thriller
| Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images |
Christian Conteh tormented his former club throughout a ruthless first-half display, scoring twice to put Braunschweig firmly in control before Dynamo mounted a stirring second-half response. But Patrick Nkoa ultimately wiped away all of Dresden’s hard work, securing a vital 3-2 win for Die Löwen in their battle at the bottom.
Braunschweig couldn’t have wished for a better start. Just seven minutes in, Dresden surrendered possession deep in their own half, allowing Leon Bell Bell to slip in ex-Dynamo winger Conteh. A fortunate ricochet off a home defender left him clean through, and he made no mistake - lifting a composed chip over Tim Schreiber for 1-0.
The visitors maintained their momentum and doubled their lead in the 21st minute, with Conteh again at the heart of it. Another loose Dresden pass was intercepted, the header falling straight to Conteh, who drove into the area and struck across Schreiber to make it 2-0. Braunschweig continued to look the more dangerous side, but the scoreline remained unchanged at the break.
Dresden, however, transformed the game within a blistering 11-minute spell early in the second half. First Jakob Lemmer latched onto Stefan Kutschke’s flick-on and, after his initial effort was saved, squeezed the rebound past Ron-Thorben Hoffmann. Moments later Lemmer turned provider, whipping in a teasing delivery for Nils Fröling, who also benefitted from a rebound as Hoffmann again made the initial save before the Swede tapped home to level at 2-2.
The topsy-turvy nature of the evening continued as Braunschweig retook the lead in the 78th minute. Sidi Sane’s low ball across the box caused chaos, triggering a scramble before Nkoa got the decisive touch as the ball trickled over the line for 3-2.
Dresden’s best opportunity to rescue a point arrived in the 95th minute, when Jonas Oemichen found himself unmarked in the area, but Hoffmann charged out bravely to smother the chance and preserve Braunschweig’s precious victory.
The win extends Heiner Backhaus’ side’s unbeaten run to three matches and lifts them (for now) into 13th place. Dresden, meanwhile, suffer a second straight defeat and remain in 17th ahead of the remaining weekend fixtures.
