The Red Devils lost their Friday night away game against Hamburg 3-0. (Facebook/1. FC Kaiserslautern)
For the second week in a row, 1. FC Kaiserslautern had the chance to climb to the top of the second division standings. And for the second week in a row, they failed.
The Red Devils fell Friday night to second-place Hamburg 3-0.
The game in front of 57,000 spectators at Hamburg’s Volkspark Stadium got off to a slow start. The first scoring chance came in the 15th minute when Devie Selkie headed the ball into FCK keeper Julian Krahl’s arms.
Selkie had a better opportunity three minutes later but again met his match in Krahl but finally scored in the 42nd minute to give HSV the 1-0 lead.
The Red Devils had the chance to even the score two minutes later, but Erik Wekesser could not convert a center from Daisuke Yokota.
In the second half it was Selkie again who put Hamburg up 2-0, scoring past Krahl in the 65th minute, from about eight yards out.
FCK coach Markus Anfang substituted Kenny Prince Redondo and Daniel Hanslik for Filip Kaloc and Ragnar Ache, but it did not do much for the Red Devils’ offense.
Fabio Balde put the game away for HSV, scoring the 3-0 in the 78th minute on a sharp shot that got past Krahl.
The loss leaves Kaiserslautern in third place for the moment with 39 points. A tie or win for Magdeburg on Saturday afternoon would drop the Red Devils to fourth.
Hamburg leads the pack, at least until Sunday, with 42 points. Cologne can take the top spot with a home win over arch-rival Düsseldorf. A Düsseldorf win would propel it past both Kaiserslautern and Cologne.
Next up for the Red Devils is a home game against Regensburg at 1 p.m. on March 1. They follow up with another game at Fritz Walter Stadium against neighboring SV Elversberg at 6:30 p.m. on March 7.
February 22, 2025 10:43
