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FCK - SC Paderborn 07

Unsurprisingly, Marco Kurz kept faith with the successful eleven that picked up three points last time out after defeating Alemannia Aachen 3-0, only naming Georges Mandjeck instead of the injured Pierre de Wit.

Once the referee whistled play underway on a freezing early afternoon at the Betzenberg, the visitors signaled their intention to steal points as Daghfous made his way goalwards leaving behind Tobias Sippel with only three minutes on the clock. However, Rodnei was able to stop the opponent. Paderborn’s shot-stopper Kasper Jensen had work to do after 16 minutes as Adam Nemec dropped the first hint as to what was about to happen later on.

Nonetheless, the home side had problems to find the right way to outperform the guest’s deep-lying defense. At the other end, the Red Devils’ famously tight defense had a tough time as they had to stave off several dangerous attacks during the opening spell of the game.

So far, the Red Devils had their best chances in consequence of dead ball situations. An Alexander Bugera corner kick caused confusion in Paderborn’s goalbox but Jensen was able to parry. A few minutes later, Srdjan Lakic caught Bugera’s next corner kick just to see Guie-Mien saving on the line.

Towards the interval, however, the home side managed to enhance the pace and create more scoring opportunities. Ivo Ilicevic and Sidney Sam, the two agile FCK wingers, both had the chance to put their team in the lead but failed to make use it in the end.

The Red Devils came out with increased purpose and Erik Jendrisek who replaced Lakic in the attack. The Slovak proved to be the right man as he put his team in the lead barely one minute after the restart. Ivo Ilicevic fed Jendrisek in the goalbox just to see his team-mate heading home (46).

Jendrisek’s goal stirred the Red Devils into life and the 25,880 crowd at the Betzenberg saw the home side gaining dominance on the field of play. With 59 minutes on the clock, the visitors had the chance to equalize but Tobi Sippel was able to parry Schachten’s thundering shot.

However, at the other, Sidney Sam, Adam Nemec and Erik Jendrisek failed to wrap up the win as Jensen deflected Sam’s shot before Nemec and Jendrisek’s second and third attempts bounced back from the post. On 77 minutes, Jendrisek brilliantly left behind three opponents but was fired the ball above the target. The hosts pressured for the decisive goal as the action on the pitch hotted up.

Four minutes from time, the Red Devils finally had the ball in the net after head coach Marco Kurz’s second substitution proved to be as brilliant as the first one as sub Markus Steinhöfer excellently crossed for Erik Jendrisek who completed his brace by heading the ball beyond Jensen. One minute into stoppage time, sub Manuel Hornig crowned the game with scoring the third goal of the afternoon seconds after he had entered the pitch.

In an exhausting and energy sapping game, the Red Devils chalked up a merited victory against SC Paderborn 07 and recapture the top spot.