Futkeu and Hrgota keep Fürth in 2. Bundesliga in their last game

Noel Futkeu and Branimir Hrgota rescued Greuther Fürth one last time as they came from behind to beat Rot-Weiss Essen in the relegation/promotion playoff tie between the 16th-placed 2. Bundesliga side and a club finishing third in 3. Liga.

The hosts were desperate to tie the score as soon as possible, but they would've been further behind if it wasn't for Silas Prüfrock. The shot-stopper denied Gianluca Swajkowski from close range before tipping over Torben Müsel's superb strike over the bar. 

Apart from the lively Sayfallah Ltaief getting into promising positions and Jannick Dehm's misplaced cross hitting the crossbar, Heiko Vogel's men struggled to break RWE's resistance inside the first half hour. However, it finally took one well-worked move by their three high-profile attackers to level the score.

Hrgota and Felix Klaus were decisive in Futkeu's 20th goal of the season. The Eintracht Frankfurt-bound striker reacted the quickest for a simple tap-in that changed the complexion of the game. Fürth were all over RWE for the rest of the half as the momentum suddenly shifted.

After his heroics against his former club Fortuna Düsseldorf in the last game at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer, Klaus came close to complete the turnaround from a difficult angle. Jakob Golz also had to make his first save after a powerful shot from Sascha Bansé, who was playing for the first time in nine months after a knee surgery.

Kaito Mizuta did score at the other end ten minutes before the half-time whistle, but Jaka Cuber Potocnik was clearly in an offside position before his cutback led to the opportunity. The sides entered the break with all to play for in potentially the final half of an evenly-matched tie.

Uwe Koschinat started the second-half with his first substitution as ex-Fürth striker Dickson Abiama replaced Ramien Saffi. The Nigerian failed to track the movement of his former teammate Hrgota in the other box inside the first two minutes.

Hrgota, who was playing his last Fürth game like Futkeu, curled home a brilliant strike to put the hosts ahead with Golz unmoved between the sticks. In an end-to-end start to the half, both goalkeepers made decent saves denying Michael Kostka and Ltaief. 

Another Essen substitute, Lucas Brumme, made a quick impression with a delightful cross for Cuber Potocnik's strike, but their goal was once again chalked off for an offside. Ten minutes before time, they came close once again when Abiama's header hit the post. Müsel, who scored the only goal of the first-leg on Friday, could only head the ball close to Prüfrock from the rebound.

There was more concern for Fürth when Mizota failed to hit the target when he faced Prüfrock in one-on-one chance. They held on for the 2-0 victory that was enough to avoid relegation at the end.

Fürth will be competing in 2. Bundesliga for the fifth consecutive season next term. The Green and Whites kept their record of not dropping outside Germany’s top two divisions in the 21st century. Hrgota and Futkeu were the star performers in their last game for the club. The latter finished the 2. Bundesliga season as a top-scorer before rejoining Frankfurt, while Fürth's 2. Bundesliga all-time leading scorer leaves as a free agent after seven years.

Similarly, RWE are heading for their fifth 3. Liga campaign in succession. It'd have been their first 2. Bundesliga season in 20 years with a different outcome tonight. VfL Osnabrück and Energie Cottbus won automatic promotion in places of relegated Fortuna Düsseldorf and Preußen Münster.