Bundesliga News

3. Liga review:
Spieltag 15 Round-up

By Jamie Allen

A summary of all the games from last weekend's action in Germany's third division.
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Photo: DFB
As spieltag 15 concludes, the 3. Liga is looking more competitive than ever. After last weekend’s results, just 8 points separate the first two relegation places and 3rd. Though a team down the bottom may be struggling now, there is reason to believe they could turn their fortunes around and begin looking at the top half of the table. Here is your review of matchday 15 in Germany’s third division.


Türkgücü München 1 - 2 Viktoria Köln (Friday)

V.Köln continue their impressive march up the table with a win over Türkgücü. A month ago, the side from Der Dom Stadt looked like they were in for a tough old season. However having beaten Dortmund, Magdeburg, and now Türkgücü, V.Köln moved up to 12th position on 19 points. Though they are still just three points outside the drop zone, they are also three off 6th position. It’s stats like this that really sum up the fine margins in this league. Türkgücü, on the other hand, are struggling for victories at the moment. The loss on the weekend puts them in 14th, just two points outside the bottom four.

SC Freiburg II 2 - 1 Waldhoff Mannheim (Saturday)

Despite looking good in recent weeks, Waldhoff come undone against a well-drilled Freiburg II side. The game looked like it was heading for a draw, something that Freiburg II would have certainly taken at the beginning of play considering both teams league positions. However, up stepped Vincent Vermeij who scored his first goal of the season from 50 metres! With nobody around him, the Dutchman spotted the keeper off his line and put the ball into the net from within his own half. That stunning strike moves Freiburg II into 13th whilst Waldhoff drop to 5th albeit with a game in hand.

VfL Osnabrück 3 - 1 1860 München


After 1860’s 6:0 mauling of Freiburg II last week, they would have been in high spirits going into this encounter against promotion hopefuls, Osnabrück. Both teams had chances to take the lead but it was in fact the in-form away side who found the net through Lex. Ever since his display against Schalke in the Pokal, the forward has gone from strength to strength. However, this was as good as it got for the Bavarians who found themselves level at the break when Simakala got the home side back in the tie. Simakala struck again just after the break, this time with his head. It was the Lila-Weiß who dominated the second half and they eventually put the game to bed in the 85th minute when Higl fired home a lovely worked attack. The win puts Osnabrück 2nd while 1860 München move down to 15th.

MSV Duisburg 1 - 0 Viktoria Berlin

Hagen Schmidt recorded his first win as MSV head coach as Berlin’s negative form continued. The game was level at the break with Duisburg arguably having the better chances. Duisburg found the opener through Bouhaddouz when he met a Stoppelkamp corner. The striker was a free man in the box, something the Berliners will certainly be frustrated about. The away side’s day out then got event worse when Menz was set off for a second bookable offence and gave away a penalty in the process. It was a completely unnecessary foul to give away and it was clear for all to see that Berlin had lost their heads. The penalty was saved, however, giving Berlin a slight glimmer of hope. However, they never got going after that and suffered yet another loss. The win moves Duiburg up one into 18th as Berlin drop to 8th.

TSV Havelse 2 - 1 Hallescher FC

The shock of the weekend, Havelse won a game! In recent weeks, I’ve been critical of the newcomers but they started this game in fabulous fashion. In just under 20 minutes, Havelse found themselves 2:0 up. The first goal was a well-worked routine while the second was a mistake that was capitalised on. Regardless of how they come, Havelse will welcome this style of play. Halle did get themselves back into it on the stroke of halftime through an Eberwein header. The team from the east huffed and puffed in the second period but couldn’t find a way past the Havelse goalkeeper. The win doesn’t move Havelse anywhere but keeps them close to the sides around them. Hallescher drop down to 10th.

FC Saarbrücken 0 - 2 FC Kaiserslautern

FCK bounced back from their surprise loss last weekend to defeat an often well-organised Saarbrücken. Having made the short trip east, Kaiserslautern started the brightest and created several chances. There was a penalty shout early on but the appeals were waved away by the referee. However, FCK found their breakthrough just past the 30-minute mark when Tomiak reacted the quickest to head the ball home after it deflected off the post. Into the second half and the game followed the same pattern. Redondo got FCK’s second after the second time of asking and put the travelling away support into ecstasy. If you want to see a quality atmosphere from the weekend’s action, I urge you to watch the highlights of this one via Magenta Sport on Youtube. The win puts FCK 6th while Saarbrücken drop to 9th.

Borussia Dortmund II 0 - 1 SV Meppen

Dortmund II continued their turbulent form as they lost at home once again, this time to Meppen. It’s a win that catapults Meppen into 3rd! Blink and you’ll have missed this incredible leap up the table. Last week, Meppen were in ninth place and now find themselves against the promotion hopefuls. The away side got their noses in front after just 15 minutes when Kruger’s right-footed effort got the better of the Dortmund II goalkeeper. The home team improved in the second period but couldn’t find a way past the resilient Meppen backline. The loss for Dortmund II sees them slip down into the bottom half in 11th.

SV Wehen Wiesbaden 2 - 2 FSV Zwickau (Sunday)

Whenever Zwickau are in town, you should always prepare yourself for a draw and that’s exactly what we got (an entertaining draw nonetheless). It was a case of you score, we score as Wiesbaden took the lead twice before being pegged back. After this result, Wiesbaden announced their new head coach, Kauczinski, on Monday morning. Still in 7th position, the new manager has a good platform in which to improve his side. Meanwhile, Zwickau drop to 16th with their 8th draw of the season.

FC Magdeburg 2 - 0 SC Verl

Magdeburg got back to winning ways with a fairly comfortable win against struggling Verl. Despite the scoreline, Verl did get off to a decent start, hitting the crossbar when the scores were level. However, Magdeburg got a slice of look when Ceka’s deflected shot rolled into the corner, giving the home side the advantage after 25 minutes. After this piece of misfortune, Verl ever really got going. Magdeburg sealed their 3 points with just under 15 minutes to go when Schuler broke free of the backline and slotted the ball home. The win keeps Magdeburg top by four points while Verl now drop into the bottom four in 17th place.

And so concludes matchday 15 in the 3. Liga. Many would have noticed that Würzburger Kicker’s tie with Braunschweig was postponed due to a covid outbreak in the home team’s camp. This game is yet to reschedule but will, of course, get played in the near future. There were many highlights from this week’s round of fixtures with Meppen’s six place leap being a personal favourite of mine. The middle pack of the table is still very much congested with very few points separating most of the teams. If this continues, we could be in for a last-day battle for places! However, there is still loads to discuss and play for in between then.


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