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RWE Essen Rot-Weiss Essen - SGF Fürth Greuther Fürth

Essen Rot-Weiss Essen

Fürth Greuther Fürth

RWE

1

SGF

0

T. Müsel
62'

Stadion an der Hafenstraße(18,117 Spectators)

Daniel Schlager

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Full-time: Essen 1-0 Fürth

Essen win 1-0 on the night, and they are halfway to winning promotion to Bundesliga 2. There weren't a lot of chances on the day, but Müsel's stunning free-kick has proven the difference. Still plenty to play for when the two sides meet again on Tuesday.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 1

Added time

There will be four additional minutes at the end of this game.

90'

Tactical

Moments after having a penalty appeal turned down, Essen win a free-kick high up the pitch as Ziereis stops Abiama from countering with a foul.

90'

Yellow card

Philipp Ziereis

89'

Substitution

86'

Good chance

Hofmann is picked out by Müsel with a great ball into the box, but he can only volley over from close range.

86'

Essen using their chances

The hosts may not have had much possession, but they lead 1-0 all the same.

Possession (%)

3862

84'

Good run

Abiama picks up the ball in his own half and just starts running at the Fürth defence. He gets a bit of luck, and suddenly he has space to shoot. However, his driven shot is straight at Prüfrock.

84'

Substitution

Sayfallah Ltaief

83'

Dangerous

Brumme gets forward and drives in a low cross that Elvedi is forced to turn behind for a corner. Reisig gets up highest to meet the set-piece, but he can only flick his header narrowly wide.

81'

Way off target

A corner from the left lands at the feet of Ltaief, but his improvised volley loops a long way off target.

77'

Substitution

The moment of the night

That strike from Müsel remains the difference with around 15 minutes remaining.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

76'

Substitution

Gianluca Swajkowski

73'

Substitution

70'

Risky

Dehm catches Kostka near halfway and is perhaps a tad fortunate that the referee decided to play advantage. The Fürth full-back has already been booked.

70'

Substitution

Jaka Čuber Potočnik

70'

Substitution

68'

Almost a disaster

Ziereis loses the ball cheaply, almost allowing Potočnik to get in behind, but Prüfrock does well to recover at the last second.

67'

Substitution

66'

Can Fürth answer back?

The visitors have probably been the better side, but now they find themselves behind.

0:19

Müsel finds the top corner

Mizuta wins a free-kick on the edge of the box, and Müsel steps up to find the top right corner. That is a stunning strike!

62'

Torben Müsel

GOAL!

1:0

Torben Müsel

Goal probability

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

4 %

Shot speed

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

121.38 km/h

Distance to Goal

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

26.04 m

0:27

Fürth survive

Prüfrock mishits a clearance right to Müsel, who volleys the ball straight towards goal from range. Luckily for Prüfrock, he has just enough time to sprint back and bundle the ball clear. The rebound also somehow stays out.

54'

Dehm with another strike from distance

Klaus battles to win possession on the edge of the box before setting up Dehm. He tries his luck from distance again, and once again, he only narrowly misses the target.

52'

Golz claims

A good cross from the right is flicked towards goal, but Golz reacts quickly to stop the ball rolling out for a Fürth corner.

50'

Great strike

Hrgota picks up the ball on the edge of the box, shimmies inside and whips a strike towards the far top corner, but Golz reacts well to make an important stop.

46'

Back underway

The ball is moving once again in Essen.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Essen 0-0 Fürth

It remains level at the break. Not really any chances to speak of in truth. Dehm nearly produced a stunner to open the scoring early on, but hit the crossbar. The game has mostly been characterised by full-blooded challenges that have kept the referee busy. Still plenty of football left to be played, though.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Melanie Zink

Half-time

45'

Added time

There are going to be two minutes of additional time.

A combative game

Fair to say that neither side has backed down from a challenge in the opening 40 minutes. There has been plenty for the referee to deal with.

© IMAGO/JOERAN STEINSIEK

0:20

Acrobatic

Ziereis flicks on a long throw into the box, and Futkeu goes for a spectacular overhead kick. He connects cleanly, but the ball swerves just wide of the post.

35'

No danger

A corner from the right is flicked wide of the target by a Fürth player at the back post, but without being a threat.

31'

Half-chance

A cross from the left is cleared only as far as Mizuta in the box, but his effort is comfortably off target whilst under pressure.

28'

Just needed a touch

Mizuta whips in a delightful free-kick that narrowly misses the head of Hüning. Any contact, and that could have been a goal.

26'

Reckless

Dehm gets his timing horribly wrong when challenging Müsel and becomes the third player in the book.

26'

Yellow card

24'

Still waiting for chances

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Dehm's effort may have struck the bar, but we haven't seen a lot of goalmouth action so far.

xGoals

0

0.06

0

Goals

22'

Good delivery

A corner is swung in from the left, right on top of the goalkeeper. Golz is relieved to hear the whistle go for a foul.

19'

Hüning gets his revenge

The Essen defender clatters into the back of Futkeu off the ball as an act of retribution for their earlier battle, but no card is shown on this occasion either.

18'

Hrgota in the book

The Fürth skipper tries to break forward, but catches his opponent in the face while doing so and picks up a yellow card.

18'

Yellow card

Branimir Hrgota

0:21

Woodwork!

Dehm has space some 35 yards out and decides to try his luck. It's a dipping and swerving strike that has the goalkeeper beaten, but the stunning effort bounces clear off the crossbar.

An even start

No real chances to speak of in the opening 15 minutes, but plenty of time remaining.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

13'

A good tussle

Futkeu and Hüning battle for a long ball before Futkeu bumps into the back of Hüning after the ball is already cleared. Bit of a naughty one.

9'

Exchanges of possession

Fürth had most of the ball in the opening few minutes, but Essen have had their chance to push forward in the last couple of moments.

5'

Dangerous delivery

Klaus swings in the free-kick with venom, but Golz gets to the ball first to punch clear.

4'

Early booking

Ltaief pounces on a loose pass and runs at Ríos Alonso before being brought down on the edge of the box. The Essen defender goes straight into the book.

4'

Yellow card

José-Enrique Ríos Alonso

2'

First foray forward

Fürth get down the right, and the ball does come into the box, but it is cleared easily enough.

1'

We're underway

The ball is moving in Essen. Which side will take the first steps towards playing Bundesliga 2 football next season?

Kick-off!

Here we go

The players are on the pitch, just seconds now until kick-off.

Players in the tunnel

Not long now until the Bundesliga 2 promotion/relegation play-off gets underway.

A good atmosphere

Both sets of fans are making plenty of noise, with kick-off now just 15 minutes away.

© IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Buriakov

Essen team news

Likewise, Essen are also unchanged, having won with a goal at the death on the final day against Ulm to leapfrog MSV Duisburg into third to reach this play-off. That means Essen's top scorer Janssen is only on the bench.

© IMAGO/Lucca Fundel

Fürth team news

Having picked up that vital 3-0 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf to make this play-off, Fürth boss Vogel has decided that no changes are needed. That means that Bundesliga 2 top scorer Futkeu is once again leading the line.

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Wolfgang Zink

Starting line-up: Rot-Weiss Essen

Formation:3-3-2-2

Essen subs

Wienand, Kaiser, Brumme, Schultz, Meisel, Reisig, Obuz, Janssen, Abiama

Starting line-up: SpVgg Greuther Fürth

Formation:4-1-4-1

Fürth subs

Boevink, Bjarnason, Dietz, Bansé, Keller, Arifi, Green, Avlayici, Higl

Uwe Koschinat on facing Fürth

"I saw Greuther Fürth's last result as something that felt good for them. This team delivered a top performance under enormous pressure. They averted the worst, namely direct relegation. Therefore, I believe they will go into the relegation play-offs with a very positive attitude. They will be very confident."

© Juergen Schwarz

Heiko Vogel on facing Essen

"It's a game that will be decided mentally. There will be good moments from the opponent. There will be good moments from us. The important thing is not to get carried away with euphoria, but to stay in the moment and do the job. As banal as that sounds – that will be the most difficult task."

© IMAGO/Sportfoto Zink / Melanie Zink

Head-to-head record

Third-tier side Essen hold a slender lead in the head-to-head stats, with three wins to Fürth's two (D2). The most recent of the teams' eight meetings came in May 2007, when the Ruhr outfit claimed a 2-0 victory over the Clover Leaves - but it was not enough to help them avoid relegation to the third division that season.

© Johannes Simon

What promotion would mean for Essen

Essen spent several seasons in Bundesliga 2 in the 1980s and 1990s, and their most recent second-tier campaign was back in 2006/07 - making a return after 20 years a rather exciting prospect for their fans.

What relegation would mean for Fürth

Fürth, crowned German champions three times in the pre-Bundesliga era, have a proud history, and have not fallen lower than the second tier in 30 years, since 1996/97. No team has played more fixtures in Bundesliga 2 than the Cloverleaves.

How Rot-Weiss Essen got here

A run of seven successive wins in the spring rocketed Essen into the automatic promotion spots under Uwe Koschinat, and although three losses in a row then set them back, two victories to end the season helped them seal third. Centre-forward Marek Janssen's 14 goals played a major role in achieving that goal.

© ThorstenxTillmann

How Greuther Fürth got here

Fürth spent some time bottom of Bundesliga 2 after Heiko Vogel replaced Thomas Kleine in the dugout in December, but vital late-season home wins over Darmstadt and Düsseldorf were enough to take them up to the play-off spot. Noel Futkeu's 19 goals, which saw him crowned Bundesliga 2 top scorer, were vital for their survival bid.

© Sebastian Widmann/Bundesliga

Ulm 2-3 Rot-Weiss Essen - last time out

There were delirious scenes among the Essen players and travelling fans when Ben Huning's stoppage-time winner on the final day in Ulm, coupled with Duisburg's 1-1 draw at home to Viktoria Cologne, secured third place in 3. Liga, and with it a play-off spot.

© IMAGO/Markus Endberg

2:12

Watch: Greuther Fürth 3-0 Fortuna Düsseldorf - last time out

Fürth earned a fantastic win on the final day of the Bundesliga 2 season to relegate Fortuna and leapfrog them into the play-off spot.

What's the play-off all about?

Essen will host the first leg on Friday 21 May. The decisive second leg will be at Fürth's Sportpark Ronhof on Tuesday 26 May. The team that wins on aggregate will get to play in Bundesliga 2 in 2026/27. The loser either goes down or remains in 3. Liga. If level on aggregate after 180 minutes, there will be 30 minutes of extra time and, if required, penalties. The away goals rule is no longer in use.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this promotion/relegation play-off first leg between Rot-Weiss Essen and Greuther Fürth.