Aue strong in the snow thanks to Bear - setback for Halle

In their element

FC Erzgebirge Aue felt in their element in the thick snow flurries and ended their negative streak of two previous home defeats. Two goals from top scorer Marcel Bär (14th and 45th minute) secured a seventh win of the season in the 2-0 (2-0) victory over Borussia Dortmund II in front of 6714 spectators at the Erzgebirge Stadium. "We had great runs down the flanks. We practiced that all week and that's why Dortmund had such massive problems. We were constantly present in the penalty area with five men, that's how you become dangerous," Bär told TV channel Magentasport on Saturday.

The visitors briefly had a glimmer of hope after Aue's Marco Schikora was shown a red card in the 67th minute. But ten minutes later, the dismissal of BVB defender Hendry Blank ensured a numerical equalizer on the pitch. "We completely dominated the game from the very first second," said Aue coach Pavel Dotchev, referring to the two disallowed goals from Tim Danhof (10') and Bär (19'). "After the red card against us, the game was suddenly more open. For me, it's the performance that counts: it was well deserved for us." With 25 points, Aue are now in seventh place, two points behind the relegation places, which is a downer for Bär: "We had a small points crisis, otherwise we would be even higher up."

Setback in the relegation battle

Halle FC are still deep in the relegation battle. Instead of catching up with neighbors 1. FC Saarbrücken and putting some distance between themselves and the relegation places with a win in front of 6,289 spectators at the Leuna Chemie Stadium, the situation remains extremely critical after the 2-0 defeat against the Bayern Cup shockers. "The only good thing is that we now have an English week with games on Tuesday and Saturday. We have to approach the next games with more courage. We simply weren't able to create any chances," said Hertha loanee Julian Eitschberger.

Former Magdeburg man Kai Brünker in the 19th minute and Boné Uaferro (41st) made it clear before the break. Even a brief period of pressure from the home side was unsuccessful. Enrique Lofolomo's red card (79') sealed the ninth defeat of the season.