Bochum, Furth book direct promotion, Kiel faces Cologne in Bundesliga play-offs

Source: Xinhua| 2021-05-24 09:35:20|Editor: huaxia
 

Serdar Dursun (C) of Darmstadt celebrates his first scoring during a German 2. Bundesliga match between Holstein Kiel and SV Darmstadt 98 in Kiel, Germany, May 23, 2021. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/Xinhua)

BERLIN, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Bochum secured the title in Bundesliga's second division with a 3-1 victory over Sandhausen and earned direct promotion together with second-placed Greuther Furth while Holstein Kiel will face Cologne in the play-offs following the last round on Sunday.

Bochum started from pole position going into the last round and opened the scoring against Sandhausen through Milos Pantovic in the 29th minute.

The host's lead lasted until the 60th minute when Sandhausen's Kevin Behrens restored parity.

Bochum remained unimpressed and gained the upper hand in the closing stages after goals from Anthony Losilla and Robert Zulj paved the way for a top spot finish.

With the result, the second division champions return to Germany's top flight after an 11-year absence.

Second-placed Greuther Furth follows Bochum into the first division as the Clover Leaves overpowered Fortuna Dusseldorf 3-2 despite a numerical disadvantage.

It didn't start well for Furth though as Kristoffer Peterson broke the deadlock for Dusseldorf in the 26th minute before Furth's Anton Stach received his marching orders for foul play before halftime.

After the restart, Branimir Hrgota leveled the scores following a handball penalty to give some hope but it was short-lived joy for the hosts as Shinta Appelkamp's goal restored Dusseldorf one-goal lead with 56 minutes played.

Furth started an onslaught and rallied back after goals from Julian Green and Dickson Abiama wrapped up all three points to ensure direct promotion.

The top two finish allows Greuther Furth to return to Bundesliga's first division for the first time since 2013.

Holstein Kiel squandered the chance for direct promotion after losing to Darmstadt 3-2 and slumping from second to third place in the last round.

Kiel will face first division outfit Cologne in two playoff games. The first leg will be played in Cologne on May 26 and the second leg in Kiel three days later. Enditem

 

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