Osnabrück score three at home, but Ingolstadt take promotion playoff
One of German football's younger clubs is back in the second division after a single away goal proved the difference Sunday afternoon at the Bremer Brücke.
VfL Osnabrück defeated FC Ingolstadt 3-1 at home, yet still must play next season in the 3. Bundesliga courtesy of a 3-4 aggregate scoreline.
VfL Osnabrück defeated FC Ingolstadt 3-1 at home, yet still must play next season in the 3. Bundesliga courtesy of a 3-4 aggregate scoreline.
The 35-year-old one-time product of the Osnabrück youth academy ignited a sense of belief among the 2,000 live spectators with strikes in the 6th and 20th. Just after the half-hour-mark, however, Ingolstadt winger Filip Bilbija pulled one back for the guests. The crucial away-goal meant that die Schanzer led 5-2 on aggregate.
Heider came close to a hat trick shortly after the break, unluckily seeing his 48th minute effort deflected off the post. The Westphalian-Saxon hosts ran tirelessly and were not short of ideas. Their Bavarian had plenty of opportunities on the counter, but could not capitalize on the openings accorded them by the VfL's risker forward play.
Towards the end, there was some hope that Osnabrück could force extra time. An Etienne Amenyido laser beam bulged the back of the net in the 81st. The requisite two additional goals would nevertheless not be forthcoming.
Ingolstadt, a newly formed 2004 club that still enjoys some respect among German neutrals for its local, non-corporate roots, returns to the second division for the first time in two years. The "Bavarian Racers" played two years in the top flight between 2015 and 2017.
The White-Lilacs slide back into the third tier after just two seasons in the 2. Bundesliga. Their last stint in Bundesliga three lasted eight years.
