2. Bundesliga Friday Konferenz round-up  | OneFootball

Ivan Prtajin stole the headlines with a hat trick in Lautern’s thumping victory, while Fürth stunned Arminia Bielefeld to take three valuable points back to Franconia.

Kaiserslautern 4-1 Preußen Münster

It was a dream first half for Torsten Lieberknecht’s side. Just seven minutes in, Kaiserslautern capitalised on some sloppy Münster possession as Prtajin continued his fine form, nodding in Semih Şahin’s cross to make it 1-0. Ten minutes later, the Croatian turned provider: Mika Haas’ deep ball found Prtajin at the back post, who cushioned a header across goal for Naatan Skyttä to head home to make it  2-0.

As so often away from home, Alexander Ende’s side dominated possession but created little. Their task got even harder in the 24th minute when Prtajin struck again. Left unmarked at the back post to meet Paul Joly’s cross, he headed past Johannes Schenk - though the keeper should have done better with a shot straight at him which eventually squirmed over the line. At 3-0 by half-time, Münster had a mountain to climb.

The visitors briefly threatened after the restart when Oliver Batista Meier’s clever dink found substitute Oscar Vilhelmsson, who poked the ball under Julian Krahl to reduce the deficit. But their hopes quickly faded. Fourteen minutes later, a poor clearance from a corner was headed back into the box by Joly, leaving Prtajin unmarked to fire home his hat trick and seal the result at 4-1.

From there, Lautern coasted to the finish, with Münster seemingly already looking ahead to next week’s must win home clash with Braunschweig. A dominant performance from Lieberknecht’s side, who climb into top spot - for now - and take plenty of momentum into their upcoming trip to Paderborn.

Arminia Bielefeld 1-3 Greuther Fürth

Much like last week against Magdeburg, Arminia delivered a flat first half - this time punished heavily for it. Fürth almost struck early after some sloppy possession gifted Noel Futkeu a chance, only for his shot to be blocked from five yards. At the other end, Isaiah Young wasted the hosts’ best chance on 19 minutes when he raced through one-on-one but fired wide.

The breakthrough came in the 25th minute. Branimir Hrgota cleverly dummied Felix Klaus’ pass, leaving Futkeu to slot past Jonas Kersken to make it 1-0. Arminia struggled to respond, with Stefano Russo’s free kick over the bar their only real chance before the break. For the second week in a row Arminia found themselves with plenty to do going into the break.

The second half began as a near carbon copy of last week: Mitch Kniat’s team responded instantly. Just five minutes after the restart, Marius Wörl cut inside from the left and his deflected strike beat Pelle Boevink to level at 1-1.

But instead of building on their momentum, Arminia faltered. Joel Grodowski spurned a golden chance in the 75th minute, and Fürth made them pay soon after. A quick free kick caught Bielefeld napping, allowing Marco John to whip in a dangerous inswinger from the left that skipped through everyone and into the net to make it 1-2.

Chasing the game, Kniat’s side pushed forward, but Klaus struck the killer blow deep into stoppage time. With space to run into, he burst clear and smashed past Kersken to seal a 1-3 away win.

For Thomas Kleine, it was the perfect response after last week’s disappointment, lifting Fürth into the top half of the table. For Arminia, however, it was a concerning display: they slip out of the top three, and their habit of sluggish first halves will surely be a key focus in training this week.