Defeats with consequences: Halle and Aue slip down the table

Hallescher FC staggering towards the Regionalliga

The situation in the relegation battle is becoming increasingly threatening for Hallescher FC. The 2:4 defeat at Viktoria Köln was avoidable and unnecessary. The HFC squandered a 2:0 lead. The visitors shifted down a gear from the 56th minute onwards and promptly got their comeuppance. "That's a big disappointment. We played a great away match for 60 minutes and didn't concede any chances. We were more courageous in attack, were rewarded and added the second goal. Then we had to make changes because a few players were injured and we completely lost our compactness. That can't happen to us," said HFC coach Stefan Reisinger on "MagentaSport".

So it's no wonder that there was a palpable sense of dejection in the HFC camp. With 15 points still to play for until the end of the season, the gap to the safety of the table cannot be closed. However, the Saxony-Anhalt side must finally start winning games again. To do so, however, they need to clear their heads. Niklas Landgraf saw the psychological aspect as a reason for the defeat. "We get the 1-2 and our heads start to rattle," said the midfielder. The belief that the team could still stay in the league was there. "As long as everything is mathematically possible, we'll fight, of course. We'll throw everything into it and then it's all about scoring, scoring, scoring," said Landgraf.

Aue are once again robbing themselves of their chances of promotion

FC Erzgebirge Aue are staying true to themselves. Once the team has slipped back into the promotion places, or at least into the relegation places, after a win, it throws it away again with a poor performance in the next game. This was also the case with the 3:1 defeat at SC Verl, who had not won at home for four months. "A few things went wrong," said coach Pavel Dotchev on MDR. The match plan had been completely thrown out of kilter by the early 1-0 scoreline and when the team made some adjustments at the break, the two goals conceded at the start of the second half meant that this had also fizzled out. "I liked the fact that we didn't let ourselves down and got the fourth and fifth goals," said captain Martin Männel, who emphasized the team's character.

In terms of promotion, Männel spoke plainly. "It's important that we now free ourselves from looking at others. A few percent less performance is not enough. That's why I don't give a damn what the result means for the remaining games. There are a few teams that are much closer to promotion," said Männel.