Eintracht Braunschweig kicked off Bundesliga 2 Matchday 29 with a sensational victory in Hamburg. - © IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Marcel von Fehrn

2. Bundesliga

Bundesliga 2, Matchday 29 overview: Stumbling Hamburg and Cologne open door to chasing pack

12.04.2025

Eintracht Braunschweig stunned Bundesliga 2 leaders Hamburg while Cologne dropped points to Greuther Fürth, in a pair of welcome results for the chasing pack in the promotion hunt.

Matchday 29 results

Hamburg 2-4 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 0-1 Bell Bell (40'), 0-2 Hefti (o.g. 41'), 1-2 Selke (74'), 1-3 Baas (84'), 1-4 Philippe (85'), 2-4 Selke (90'+5)

Braunschweig gave their survival hopes a massive shot in the arm with a stunning win away to pre-Matchday 29 leaders Hamburg. Two quick-fire goals in each half did the damage, punctuating a tremendously industrious team display. Leon Bell Bell struck first, before Silvan Hefti inadvertently put through his own net. HSV substitute Davie Selke gave the hosts hope, before another two goals in 60 seconds, this time from Julian Baas and Rayan Phillippe, wrapped up a shock result for the Lions. They climb into the relegation play-off spot, whilst leaving HSV - who did score a late consolation through Selke - with a slender lead at the summit.

Greuther Fürth 1-1 Cologne
Goals: 1-0 Futkeu (12'), 1-1 Waldschmidt (pen. 45')

Cologne also slipped up after drawing with struggling Fürth. Noel Futkeu converted the hosts’ bright start into an early lead with a clinical finish to round off a counter-attack, but Cologne cancelled out the Clover Leaves’ advantage before half-time through a Luca Waldschmidt penalty. Lifted by the equaliser, the Billy Goats emerged after the break with renewed vigour, going close through Tim Lemperle and Damion Downs, but despite striking the woodwork twice couldn’t find a winner.

Paderborn 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 0-1 Schmidt (40’), 0-2 Kownacki (pen. 52’), 1-2 Ansah (78‘)
Red card: Castaneda (63‘)

It was a wonder Paderborn didn’t manage to score in the first half, as they dominated both possession and the chances, but it was Danny Schmidt who broke the deadlock for Fortuna before the break, clinically rounding off a counter-attack against the run of play. Things went from bad to worse for Paderborn, as a converted Dawid Kownacki penalty after the restart was followed by a sending off for Santiago Castaneda. Super sub Ilyas Ansah managed to claw one back for the hosts, setting up a tense finish, but Fortuna managed to hold their lead to rise to fourth in the table.

Hannover 1-3 Elversberg
Goals: 1-0 Neumann (12’), 1-1 Asllani (55‘), 1-2 Asllani (78’), 1-3 Asllani (90’+8)

Defensively-strong Hannover welcomed high-scoring Elversberg in a promotion six-pointer which saw the visitors pick up the win thanks to Fisnik Asllani's hat-trick. Hannover snatched an early lead courtesy of Phil Neumann’s sharp rebound from a corner and the 96ers dominated the first half, pressing high and allowing little space for Elversberg. However, Horst Steffen’s half-time team talk worked wonders, as the visitors reemerged after the break a different side. A second-half masterclass from Asllani turned the game on its head, allowing Elversberg to climb into the promotion play-off place.

Hertha Berlin 1-1 Darmstadt
Goals: 0-1 Lidberg 48', 1-1 Vukotić (own goal) 62'

Hertha Berlin are now five games unbeaten after they came from behind to draw with Darmstadt at the Olympiastadion. The visitors started the better, setting the game's tempo, and took the lead shortly after the break through Isac Lidberg's 14th goal of the season. However, Aleksandar Vukotić turned into his own net around the hour mark to level things up. Both teams went close to snatching a winner, but ultimately had to make do with a share of the spoils. The result keeps them both in the bottom half of the table, yet well clear of the relegation zone.

Ulm 1-0 Magdeburg
Goals: 1-0 Telalović (17')

Despite dominating in terms of possession and chances, promotion-chasing Magdeburg came away empty-handed from their trip to Ulm. Telalović’s first-half strike was the difference between the sides in a game which lacked clear-cut shooting opportunities at both ends. Magdeburg drop out of the play-off position as a result, while Ulm’s fifth win of the season, and their second in the last three, gives their hopes of Bundesliga 2 survival a huge shot in the arm.

Kaiserslautern 1-2 Nuremberg
Goals: 0-1 Fabio Gruber (14‘), 0-2 Mahir Emreli (68‘), 1-2 Marlon Ritter (72‘)

The Bundesliga 2 threw up another shock on this weekend of twists as Kaiserslautern, who started the weekend just outside the top three on goal difference, lost at home to Nuremberg. In a game that the hosts absolutely dominated, they were somehow only able to find the back of the net once through Marlon Ritter despite creating 4.21 xG. Nuremberg, on the other hand, were very clinical. Mahir Emreli’s goal to make it 2-0 was particularly special. The result leaves Kaiserslautern in fifth. Meanwhile, Nuremberg climb to seventh and they are now just three points off the promotion play-off spot.

Preußen Münster 1-1 Karlsruhe
Goals: 1-0 Ben Farhat (1'), 1-1 Lorenz (pen. 73')

With a lightning opener, Karlsruhe made the early running in this hotly contested match, but Münster recovered well and went on to dominate long stretches. Although the hosts struggled to convert the upper hand in open play, their reward came in the form of a converted penalty after a Karlsruhe hand-ball that levelled up the score. A fair draw after an entertaining match, the result sees Karslruhe sit tight in tenth place while Münster slip into the relegation play-off spot following Braunschweig's big win in Hamburg on Friday.

Jahn Regensburg 2-0 Schalke
Goals: 1-0 Kühlwetter (21'), 2-0 Galjen (90'+3)

Jahn Regensburg claimed a crucial and thoroughly deserved victory, taking a significant step in their fight against relegation. The hosts went into the break with a well-earned lead, built on a bold, determined first-half display that outmatched a lacklustre Schalke side, and then made sure of the points with a late second. Regensburg are now within six points of the relegation play-off spot - and fans can once again allow themselves a flicker of hope in the battle to stay up.