The last place in the 2nd Bundesliga for the coming season will be awarded on Tuesday, the first leg between Kaiserslautern and Dresden did not result in a preliminary decision. Dynamo remain winless this year but still have high hopes of avoiding relegation.
With demonstrative optimism, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Dynamo Dresden go into the decisive meeting after the 0-0 in the first relegation game. Immediately after the final whistle on Friday evening, both the new FCK coach Dirk Schuster and his hapless Dynamo colleague Guerino Capretti spoke strongly about their teams and expressly praised their fans, whose support they still desperately need.
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“I’m satisfied with the starting position. In the next game we will advance our attacks, we will score goals,” promised Capretti for the game on Tuesday (8.30 p.m. / Sport.1 and Sky).
The nervousness is already big enough in the camp of the third division third and second division third bottom. In front of 46,895 spectators in the sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium, both teams fought a passionate battle of attrition with only a few chances for either side. After 18 winless games in a row, the Saxons now have to burst in the second leg against the Palatinate – otherwise they will go down in league three. “We defended passionately and deservedly took the point,” said former FCK professional Chris Löwe. “We saw that we don’t need to be afraid of loud people.”
Despite wild attempts to attack, FCK remained without a goal in the first half. But head coach Schuster, who replaced Marco Antwerp last week after a turbulent few days, did not want to see the goalless draw as a damper on his dreams of promotion. Immediately after the final whistle, the 54-year-old gathered his players in a circle and encouraged them. “Now we’re going to Dresden with a big heart,” he said. “We were very present in the duels, we put our hearts on the pitch. Nothing happened today and we will be well prepared for Dresden.”
The second duel between the four-time German and eight-time East German champions also promises passionate football. Schuster knows only too well what is possible in a relegation: In 2014 he achieved the feat with Darmstadt 98, after a 1:3 in the relegation first leg against Arminia Bielefeld, with a 4:2 in the second leg in the second division. A year later, the native of Chemnitz even marched through to the upper house with the Lilien. (dpa)
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