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Paderborn Koen Kostons (front) in a duel with Richmond Tachie
Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa
1. FC Kaiserslautern slipped into the relegation zone in the relegation battle of the 2nd Bundesliga. Coach Dimitrios Grammozis' cup semi-finalist gave up a half-time lead in a 1-2 (1-0) win against SC Paderborn and suffered their ninth defeat in the last ten league games. The game on the Betzenberg was again accompanied by protests against the investor plans of the German Football League (DFL).
David Kinsombi (65th minute, hand penalty) and Visar Musliu (72nd) turned the game around for the East Westphalians, who, as sixth in the table with 34 points, can still hope for promotion. The FCK, who took the lead early through Jan Elvedi (3rd), are 16th in the table. with their backs to the wall: Hansa Rostock could overtake Lautern in the basement duel at VfL Osnabrück on Sunday (1.30 p.m.; TV: Sky).
The FCK started the encounter furiously. Elvedi ran in perfectly from a corner and headed the hosts into the lead (3rd). With the 1-0 win behind them, the FCK, who had only six league wins before the game, largely dominated the game. Tymoteusz Puchacz (11th) missed the best of several opportunities in the first half.
This took revenge in the second round: After the restart, which was delayed by several minutes due to fan protests, the SCP played much more actively. In the 55th minute, Grammozis brought in three new players, and a little later his team had to accept the equalizer. After a handball by Boris Tomiak, referee Martin Petersen decided on a penalty kick according to the video images. Kinsombi converted and celebrated again a little later when his teammate Musliu was spot on after an extended corner (65', 72').
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