A well deserved win for Eintracht Braunschweig was secured thanks to Dennis Kruppke. A game full of chances seen Ryu Seung-Woo open the scoring, before a pin-point Andreas Ludwig finish brought the sides level. The stage was set for Kruppke to come off the bench and net the winner, he duly delivered with a powerful strike into the corner.
Following their 2-1 win against 1860 Munich, Thorsten Lieberknecht and his side were keen to make it two wins from two. The cup win in mid-week hadn't affected the players' fitness too much, so only Dennis Kruppke, Marcel Correia and Marc Pfitzner dropped to the bench; that meant Ryu Sueng-Woo, Matthias Henn and Hendrick Zuck earned a starting berth.
As for Aalen, they killed off Hannover 96's cup hopes on Tuesday. Keen to build upon that momentum, even though they were beaten by Union Berlin last weekend, Stefan Ruthenbeck made just one change; Phil Ofosu-Ayeh was replaced by Fabio Kaufmann at right-back.
The start was fast and frantic, as Rafal Ginkiewicz and his opposite number Daniel Bernhardt were called in action. Both made solid stops from one-on-one opportunities, as the opening period provided plenty of nervy moments for the fans. The pace continued, a game that was an end-to-end affair; the hosts had the better chances, but the Aalen defence stood firm.
Hendrick Zuck was the menace that was constantly troubling the visitors, though he couldn't keep either of his chances below the bar. Even though it wasn't Zuck who scored the opener, he was at the heart of it. The on-loan Freiburg midfielder hassled and harried Andre Hofmann, before sliding Mirko Boland through on goal after a driving run. Boland, faced with Bernhardt, unselfishly squared for Seung-Woo to notch up his first goal of the season.
Aalen pilled pressure after the break, but they couldn't force a way through. Jurgen Gjasula's attempt was well stopped by Ginkiewicz, as the resulting corner was glanced over. The Pole's long kick-out sent Sueng-Woo racing clear on Bernhardt, only for the 'keeper to spread himself and deflect the ball inches wide of post. Neither side could force another opportunity just before half-time, as Braunschweig went in with the lead.
The second half continued on in the same vein as the first, Zuck was continuing to threaten and Havard Nielsen had a strong penalty appeal turned down. Such was the force of the tackle, Nielsen was taken off for Dennis Kruppke almost immediately. At the other end, Braunschweig had an equally valid call for a spot kick turned down, but they quickly remedied the situation to equalise soon after.
Some great play around the box seen Nejmeddin Daghfous play the ball back to Hofmann; the central midfielder slid through Michael Klauß and the cut-back was perfect for Andreas Ludwig to drive the ball home. It was a fantastic team goal that was well swept past the out-stretched Ginkiewicz and straight into the bottom corner.
Though they were only level for a dozen minutes, as Braunschweig went back in front through Kruppke. Norman Theuerkauf's long ball was flicked on by the club captain, who exchanged headed passes with Sueng-Woo. The veteran forward needed just two touches; one to control and another to rifle the ball past Bernhardt, even though the goalkeeper got a hand to the ball.
Substitute Mushaga Bakenga was denied brilliantly by Bernhardt, but that didn't matter in the end as the hosts ran out 2-1 winners. Braunschweig's recent surge in form takes them to ninth, now just three points from third placed Darmstadt. Aalen, with the clubs around them picking up points, now sit bottom of the table. While it's a two point gap to seventeenth, they'll be confident of getting a result against FSV Frankfurt next weekend.