3. Liga: Matchday 25 talking points
Your weekly round up of all the action from a closely-contested dritte liga.
It was another fascinating matchday in Germany’s 3. Liga. It was also a longer round of matches that stretched from Friday to Tuesday evening. Don't be surprised to see the same format for the next few weeks as teams start to play catch-up due to postponements earlier in the campaign. Here are all of the key talking points and results from another action-packed weekend in the Dritte Liga.
1 - Havelse are no longer bottom of the league! Remarkably, it’s the first time this season that Havelse have climbed from 20th position. Ever since the first game of the season, they have been stuck to the bottom of the table like a barnacle to a boat. The Hannover-based team won in style on Saturday with a thrilling 3:0 victory against Meppen. It was an impressive performance which included possibly the best solo goal you will see this season. For Havelse’s second, Kianz Froese collected the ball on the edge of his box following a Meppen corner before taking on several players and calmly lifting the ball over the on-rushing goalkeeper. The massive win puts Havelse just four points off safety. Is the great escape on?
2 - On Sunday, MSV Duisburg lost 1:3 at home to Borussia Dortmund II. Two of BVB II’s goals came from the penalty spot but the goal of the day went to Duisburg’s Moritz Stoppelkamp. The MSV maestro has found his shooting boots in recent weeks and was in similar form on here. The creative midfielder found space on the edge of the box before chipping the keeper and one defender on the goal line. Despite the result, the main talking points came after the game. BVB II midfielder, Franz Pfanne, featured in the match despite being reported that he was suspended for collecting his 5th yellow card of the season against Osnabrück the game before. It’s possible that the issue might have occurred due to an administration error. However, Duisburg has since protested the result and are awaiting a decision from the DFB. Duisburg are fighting for survival at the moment so it’s no surprise that they are fighting this all the way. To add to the story, MSV’s Sporting Director, Ivo Grlic handed in his resignation after the full-time whistle.
3 - Waldhof Mannheim and Viktoria Berlin played out an exhilarating five-goal thriller as the home side reignited their promotion campaign. The match began in frantic fashion as Berlin took the lead within the first minute only to concede themselves just two minutes later. The end of the half ended in a similar manner when Berlin’s Brooklyn Ezeh scored a stunning freekick just outside the box before Mannheim found their second leveller via the penalty spot on the 43rd minute. It was Mannheim who pushed for a winner in the second period and finally got their just rewards five minutes from time. Having failed to clear the ball, Berlin invited more pressure and paid the price when Dominik Martinovic scored at the near post. Mannheim’s Martinovic and Marc Schnatterer were the stand out perofmers in this one. Having scored a combined total of 21 goals this season, Mannheim will be looking to these two as they seek a top-three finish.
4- FC Kaiserslautern further solidified 2nd position with a routine 2:0 win away to FSV Zwickau. The Red Devils’ impressive rise from relegation candidates last season to potential 2. Bundesliga football has been nothing short of world-class. Having only conceded 13 goals all season, they have by far the best defence in the league. Having added to their attacking prowess through the signing of former Hallescher striker, Terrace Boyd, Kaiserslautern are clearly aiming for a top-two spot. With a game in hand on most teams around them, they could further solidify their position in the top three in the coming weeks. Next up for Kaiserslautern is a massive test at home to FC Magdeburg who have sat in 1st place for some time now. If they manage to get the better of Magdeburg and win their game in hand, they would only be 6 points off top spot.
3. Liga Spieltag 25 Results
Freiburg II 1:1 Viktoria Köln
Osnabrück 1:1 Türkgücü München
Waldhof Mannehim 3:2 Viktoria Berlin
Havelse 3: 0 Meppen
Magdeburg 3:1 Wiesbaden
Verl 0:0 Hallescher
Zwickau 0:2 Kaiserslautern
1860 München 2:2 Braunschweig
Duisburg 1:3 Dortmund II
Saarbrücken 2:1 Würzburger Kickers
Catch-up matches
Zwickau 1:0 Viktoria Köln
Hallescher 1:0 Türkgücü München