2. Bundesliga: Elversberg hold on to defeat ten-man Paderborn

With both sides vying for position at the summit, Vincent Wagner’s team capitalised on Calvin Brackelmann’s second-half red card, as Frederik Schmahl’s deflected winner sealed a vital 2-1 victory on the road.

After a cagey start with neither side willing to over-commit, Paderborn created the first clear opening through Nick Bätzner. The forward found space on the edge of the box and let fly, his effort taking a wicked deflection that forced a superb save from Nicolas Kristof.

Despite Paderborn looking the more threatening, it was Elversberg who struck first just after the half-hour mark. A short corner routine finished with Tom Zimmerschied swinging in a cross to the back post, where the in-form Younes Ebnoutalib arrived to nod home his 11th goal of the season. The visitors took their 1-0 lead into the break.

Ralf Kettemann responded with a double substitution at half-time and was rewarded seven minutes later when both changes combined, Ruber Müller teeing up Sven Michel to level the scores. But just as Paderborn had wrestled back momentum, disaster followed. Brackelmann was dismissed for a late challenge on Schmahl, leaving the hosts under serious pressure. 

Elversberg pushed to make their numerical advantage count. Ebnoutalib thought he had restored the lead on 67 minutes, only for VAR to intervene and chalk the goal off for offside in the build-up. The reprieve for Paderborn didn’t last long. Nine minutes later, a weak clearance from Lukas Petkov’s cross dropped perfectly for Schmahl, whose first-time strike deflected off Felix Götze and beyond Seimen to put the visitors 2-1 up.

To their credit, ten-man Paderborn battled until the end and pushed hard for an equaliser, but luck deserted them as Elversberg held firm through eleven minutes of added time.

It marks a second consecutive away win for Elversberg, who climb into second place and will finish the weekend there. For Paderborn, it is a third straight defeat in another key matchup, dropping points against a direct rival once again and slipping to third in the table.