News Focus
- Greuther Fürth beat Rot-Weiss Essen 2-0 in the second leg of the relegation playoff
- The victory secured their place in the 2. Bundesliga for a fifth consecutive season
- Departing striker Noel Futkeu opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the campaign
- Captain Branimir Hrgota scored the second goal in his final appearance for the club
- Eintracht Frankfurt-bound Futkeu finishes as the division’s top scorer
Greuther Fürth will stay in Germany’s second division after beating Rot-Weiss Essen 2-0 in the second leg of the relegation playoff. The win overturned their 1-0 loss from the first match.
The visitors started brightly. Goalkeeper Silas Prüfrock made two great saves to keep Fürth in the match. He stopped Gianluca Swajkowski from close range and pushed Torben Müsel’s strong shot over the bar.
Fürth found it hard to create chances in the first 30 minutes. But their three attackers worked together for the opening goal. Felix Klaus and Branimir Hrgota set up Noel Futkeu for an easy tap-in. This was the striker’s 20th goal of the season.
The home team controlled the rest of the first half. Klaus almost scored from a difficult position before the break. Essen thought they had equalised when Kaito Mizuta scored, but the goal was cancelled for offside.
The second half started badly for Essen. Former Fürth player Dickson Abiama did not follow Hrgota’s run. The Swedish forward curled a fine shot past goalkeeper Jakob Golz to make it 2-0.
Essen tried hard to get back into the match. Both teams had chances in an open period of play. The visitors had another goal cancelled when Lucas Brumme passed to Jaka Cuber Potocnik.
With ten minutes left, Abiama hit the post with a header. Müsel could only head the rebound straight at Prüfrock. Mizuta also missed a clear chance late in the game.
Fürth held on to secure their place in the league. The club will play in the 2. Bundesliga for the fifth season in a row. They have never dropped below the second level in the 21st century.
The match was the last for two key players. Futkeu returns to Eintracht Frankfurt after finishing as the league’s top scorer. Club captain Hrgota leaves as a free agent after seven years. He is the club’s record scorer in the second division.
Rot-Weiss Essen must stay in the 3. Liga for another season. A win would have given them their first season in the second tier for 20 years.
VfL Osnabrück and Energie Cottbus move up to the 2. Bundesliga automatically. They replace Fortuna Düsseldorf and Preußen Münster, who drop down to the third division.