Lead at the break, scored the equalizer and then lost: A week and a half after the cup defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf, 1. FC Magdeburg also lost to the Rhinelander in the league. In front of 20,647 spectators, the final score was 2:3 (2:0). Herbert Bockhorn (17') and Xavier Amaechi (37') gave FCM the lead, but Vincent Vermeij (46', 75') and Shinta Appelkamp (70') turned the game around. "It's very disappointing, there was clearly more in it," said FCM goalscorer Bockhorn.
The atmosphere in the Magdeburg stadium was good from the start, with neither fan camp taking part in the boycott. The Magdeburg Ultras announced this shortly before the start of the match: "We will not participate because our club voted in our favor, voted no." At the same time, they called on the FCM to "have the right to vote legally examined".
On the pitch, the teams played a varied game, with both sides trying to take an early lead. Magdeburg took a somewhat curious lead: Bockhorn's cross from half-field (17') slipped off the Magdeburg player and landed in the goal behind Kastenmeier, who had taken a different direction. It was Bockhorn's third home goal in a row. Even after Magdeburg took the lead, the teams alternated quite regularly between phases of possession and pressure. If Magdeburg withdrew its pressing line behind the halfway line, Düsseldorf could become dangerous, otherwise the FCM attackers lurked for gaps in the Düsseldorf chains. Scoring chances became rarer, but Magdeburg made the most of them: Luc Castaignos (37') got through well in a duel and fed the completely free Amaechi for a fully deserved 2:0 lead at the break.
The hosts were not yet on the pitch when Düsseldorf scored the equalizer: Vermeij (46') finished off an attack in which the FCM backline looked collectively poor. The visitors had stepped up the pressure considerably, were now in control of the game and equalized (70') - and because FCM were almost non-existent, Vermeij's opening goal (75') was the logical consequence. Only then did FCM press again, creating chances but not equalizing. Magdeburg found no answer to the Düsseldorf changes and the increased pressure, losing to the visitors for the second time in two weeks.
"It happens to us too often that we come out of the break and then give the game to our opponents," summed up Condé. You have to ask yourself what the reasons are for not being able to play your own game.
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