2. Bundesliga Sunday Konferenz Round-Up | OneFootball

Darmstadt the clear winners of the weekend as they dispatch Düsseldorf 0-3 to move up to first place, Kiel produced a positive performance to hand Karlsruher their first defeat whilst Hannover drop points yet again.

Dynamo Dresden 2-2 Hannover 96

Both teams entered the match desperate for points at opposite ends of the table, and the first half turned into a spectacle. Dresden dominated possession early but created little, while Hannover looked threatening every time they countered. Christian Titz’s side were handed a penalty in the 11th minute after Konrad Faber was penalised for handball, which Benedikt Pichler calmly converted to make it 0-1.

The game came alive again in the 35th minute. A deep ball from Vinko Šapina was headed into his own net by Virgil Ghita, gifting Dresden an equaliser and sending the home crowd into raptures. Just seven minutes later, momentum carried the hosts into the lead. A Luca Herrmann corner caused chaos, Daferner’s header was cleared off the line, but Nils Fröling reacted quickest to fire home the rebound for 2-1.

Yet Hannover hit back almost instantly. Neubauer’s driving run led to Noel Aseko-Nkili firing a sharp effort past Tim Schreiber from the edge of the box. A whirlwind ten minutes ended with the scores level at 2-2 going into the break.

Dresden started the second half brightly, but their task grew harder in the 54th minute when Šapina was shown a straight red for a reckless challenge on Enzo Leopold. Down to ten men, Dresden dug in as Hannover pressed forward but lacked cutting edge.

Waniss Taïbi went closest for the visitors in the 70th minute, denied by a sharp stop from Schreiber. Despite numerical disadvantage, Dresden defended resolutely, restricting Hannover to just three shots on target after the dismissal. The hosts even threatened on the counter late on.

It finished 2-2, a valuable point for Dresden who showed grit under pressure. For Hannover, it felt like two points dropped - leaving them third in the table, while Dresden climb to 14th.

Holstein Kiel 3-0 Karlsruher SC

Karlsruher arrived unbeaten in five, but it was Kiel who looked the team in form from the outset. Marcel Rapp’s men dominated early and were awarded a penalty in the 12th minute after Hans Christian Bernat fouled Adrian Kapralik. However, Jonas Therkelsen’s tame spot-kick was saved by Bernat, sparing his own blushes.

Kiel thought they’d taken the lead in the 18th minute, but Marcus Müller was penalised for a push. The striker continued to torment KSC’s defence though, and the breakthrough finally came in the 25th minute. Kapralik latched onto Alexander Bernhardsson’s through ball and drilled home for 1-0. Eleven minutes later, David Zec doubled the lead with a powerful header from a corner. Karlsruher’s best chance came on 40 minutes, but Fabian Schleusener’s effort was denied by Jonas Krumrey. Kiel went in 2-0 up at the break.

The visitors showed more intent after the restart, Schleusener forcing another good save from Krumrey. But Kiel looked more likely to kill the game off, with Kapralik continuing to cause problems. The decisive blow arrived in the 71st minute when substitute Phil Harres raced onto Bernhardsson’s pass and finished calmly for 3-0.

Eichner’s side tried to mount a response but never looked like turning it around. Their unbeaten run ended with a heavy defeat, while Kiel produced one of their best displays of the season to move up to ninth. Karlsruher drop to seventh.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 0-3 SV Darmstadt

Darmstadt flew out of the blocks, barely giving Düsseldorf a chance to settle. Fraser Hornby was denied one-on-one by Florian Kastenmeier inside the opening minutes, and from the resulting corner Isac Lidberg thought he’d scored - only for VAR to rule it out for offside.

The visitors kept pressing, with Kastenmeier called into action again to stop Patric Pfeiffer’s header. Düsseldorf offered little until the 33rd minute when Matthias Zimmermann’s cross found Zan Celar, but Marcel Schuhen produced a superb reflex save. The half ended goalless, both sides regrouping for the second period.

Thioune’s men started brighter after the break, with Christian Rasmussen firing over from a well-worked corner routine. But just as Düsseldorf seemed to be finding their rhythm, Darmstadt struck. In the 65th minute Hiroki Akinyama pounced on a loose ball in the box and fired past Kastenmeier for 0-1.

Two minutes later, Fabian Nürnberger doubled the lead after latching onto Pfeiffer’s long ball and finishing clinically. Darmstadt thought they had a third soon after, but VAR again ruled out the goal for offside. The killer moment came in the 74th minute when Hornby’s run set up Luca Marseiler, whose shot was parried into the path of Lidberg. The in-form striker tucked home his sixth of the season to make it 0-3.

The game drifted from there, with Darmstadt in full control and Düsseldorf well beaten. Kohfeldt’s side climb top of the table on 13 points, while Thioune’s men sit a disappointing 13th with much to improve.