It took seventy-three minutes for Kaiserslautern to break down the stubborn Sandhausen defence, but Philipp Hofmann's header proved to be the macth winner as the home side secured a valuable three points.
Kaiserslautern were pleased to have rescued a late draw with 1860 Munich in their last game and would have been keen to get back to winning ways, especially due to the bunched up group chasing table-topping Ingolstadt. Kosta Runjaic made three changes to the side that drew in Munich, as Ruben Jenssen, Jean Zimmer, Srdjan Lakic dropped out and Karim Matmour, Amin Younes and Philipp Hofmann took their places.
Sandhausen put up a valiant fight against high-flying Darmstadt in mid-week. Unfortunately for Alois Schwartz they fell to a 1-2 defeat, thanks to Hanno Behrens' late strike. Knowing the task in hand would be of similar difficulty at the Fritz-Walter Stadion, Schwartz made four alterations and opted for a five-at-the-back formation. Marc Pfertzel, Manuel Stiefler, Alexander Bieler, Nicky Adler were no longer in the starting eleven, as Tim Kister, Leart Paqarada, Kevin Kratz, Moritz Kuhn earned a starting berth.
The game began with Kaiserslautern dominating the opening exchanges, with the returning Younes was controlling the play. He was causing plenty of trouble out wide and was hauled down by Seyi Olajengbesi, giving the hosts an early penalty. There was no doubt in Martin Thomsen's mind, as he pointed straight to the spot. Matmour was trusted with converting the spot-kick, but Manuel Riemann managed to paw the ball away and pounce on the rebound to keep the game goal-less.
The Sandhausen defence was being bombarded with wave after wave of Kaiserslautern attack, their only reprieve came in the form of the odd costless-kick won by Aziz Bouhaddouz or Kuhn. While there was plenty of danger from wide areas, the threat of Kerem Demirbay and Markus Karl lurking on the edge of the box was always there. The HSV-loanee had a shot that whistled just over from twenty-five yards; though when the Red Devils managed to get a shot on target, it was normally comfortable for Riemann.
The Sandhausen stopper was immediately back in the thick of things, as he did well to deny Kevin Stöger soon after the restart. The visiting box was a hive of activity, though some resolute defending managed to keep out the Kaiserslautern attacks. This began to frustrate the home faithful, who were starting to transfer the tension onto the players on the pitch.
The second-half produced very few chances, yet this didn't deter the hosts and they eventually broke down the solid Sandhausen defence. The introduction of Jean Zimmer and Sebastian Jacob seemed to freshen up the front-line, though it was Hofmann who made the breakthrough. His second goal of the season proved to be a simple one, as Matmour atoned for his earlier penalty miss by weaving his way down the right hand side. The Algerian cut the ball back and Hofmann was ready to pounce, heading it past Riemann and into the net.
The win means that Kaiserslautern remain fifth, just a single point behind second-placed Karlsruher SC. They've set themselves up to have a real crack at promotion, although, if Leipzig win on Monday night, just two points will separate seventh and second. As for Sandhausen, they sit in fourteenth place, four points above the bottom three. They'll be keen to kick-off the Rückrunde with a win against fellow strugglers St. Pauli, with the Red Devils hosting Braunschweig in a massive promotion clash.