Fortuna Düsseldorf remain unbeaten in the 2. Bundesliga following a third draw in four games this season against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, in a game that won’t last long in the memory.
Khaled Narey gave Fürth the lead just over 20 minutes into the game with a cracking strike that caught out Düsseldorf 'keeper Michael Rensing.
However the home side grabbed a point in the latter stages through their captain Oliver Fink, leaving them seventh in the table, a place and point behind Fürth.
Good starts for both sides
Düsseldorf have made a promising start to the season, unbeaten with five points from their three games, including a victory over relegated VfB Stuttgart.
They drew their last game two weeks’ ago 0-0 with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with just one change the team that started that, with Alexander Madlung fit again after a back complain and in for Robin Bormuth.
Kaan Ayhan was unable to make his debut following his move from Schalke 04 after picking up a muscle strain on international duty with Turkey.
Fürth started the game in fifth place after two wins in their first three games, coming against 1860 Munich and Erzgebirge Aue.
They still had several players out injured, but with no fresh concerns over the international break they were able to name an unchanged team from the one that started against Aue.
Narey strikes first for Fürth
For the opening twenty minutes it was a very low key affair, with Düsseldorf starting the brighter but Fürth slowly built up the possession they were having.
The first shot on goal came through a Robert Zulj free kick in a central position, which he manages to get past the wall but only to find Rensing a willing recipient in the Düsseldorf goal.
That could have served as a warning, but just a couple of minutes later Düsseldorf gave away another set piece. The initial free-kick from Niko Gießelmann was cleared by Rouwen Hennings, but the ball was picked up outside the box by Narey, who worked it into a better position before shooting past Rensing with an awkward swerve.
They could have had a second when a fingertip save from Rensing denied Zulj, although the goal would have been controversial as in the build-up Adam Bodzek and Serdar Dursun, with the Düsseldorf players thinking they should have had a free-kick.
Düsseldorf weren’t having much luck in front of goal, with little service for Hennings up front. Axel Bellinghausen shot over the bar, and Fink had a shot saved by Balazs Megyeri, but they weren’t able to pull back level before the break.
Fink equaliser a rare second half high point
The second half was an equally slow-moving affair, although Düsseldorf did have the better chances. Hennings brought a save out of Megyeri after his initial free-kick deflected off the Fürth wall, whilst Fink had two chances go wide.
Alarm bells were ringing for the hosts though when Veton Berisha put a ball into the box and Fürth scrambled around to find a way to goal. Zulj eventually was able to poke the ball towards goal, but a good challenge from Bodzek meant he couldn’t hit it cleanly and Rensing got a hand on it to carry it away.
With just over ten minutes left, Fink equalised for Düsseldorf. Arianit Ferati played an excellent through ball to Hennings, but proceeded into the box and then took Megyeri out of the equation with his lay off to the skipper who was left with an easy finish.
A spate of free-kicks in the closing minutes for both sides failed to present either side with a chance to score a winner, with a draw a fair result.