Würzburger Kickers extended their unbeaten run in the 2. Bundesliga to three games, as Bernd Hollerbach's side earned a very credible 3-0 away victory at the Stadion am Laubenweg against a disappointing SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Friday night.
David Pisot's early header gave die Rothosen an early foothold in the game, and Würzburg didn't look back from there. Able to soak up the little pressure the ineffectual Fürth could offer, it was once again Pisot that assured the three points would be heading home to North-West Bavaria, as he volleyed home from another corner.
Tobias Schröck added further insult to injury for die Kleeblätter late on as his thirty yard strike flew beyond Balázs Megyeri and into the top right corner, ensuring Würzburger Kickers would get the bragging rights in this Franconian derby.
Pisot strikes to give Kickers the lead
Die Rothosen, Würzburger Kickers have enjoyed a superb start to life in the 2. Bundesliga after a 38 year absence, securing impressive victories against 1. FC Heidenheim and VfL Bochum. In the early stages of the match in Franconia, Bernd Hollerbach's side threatened to extend their winning streak to three games and at the same time take the scalp of another club, as they took a tenth minute lead.
Nejmeddin Daghfous' corner was met by the head of David Pisot, who after slight nudge on his marker powered a header straight beyond Balázs Megyeri and into the back of the net. The raucous band of Würzburg supporters that had made the short trip to the Stadion am Laubenweg were evidently pleased, as the summer signing from VfL Osnabrück got his first goal for the club.
Despite taking the lead, Hollerbach was soon left wondering how side weren't two ahead after squandering two clear cut opportunities in the space of minutes. Sebastian Neumann spurned his headed opportunity, dragging it wide of Megyeri's post. Then after Rico Benatelli seized on a loose pass in the Fürth defence, Elia Soriano was presented with a golden chance to double Würzburg's lead after the former Erzgebirge Aue man squared to give the Italian an open goal. However, Soriano took a touch and allowed Mike Franke the opportunity to strain every sinew in his body and divert the ball away from the net with a last ditch sliding challenge.
After Robert Zulj's retrospective three match ban by the DFB for an incident involving Fortuna Düsseldorf's Marcel Sobottka, the host SpVgg Greuther Fürth were missing the Austrian's finesse in attack as die Kleeblätter failed to put Würzburg goalkeeper, Robert Wulnikowski, under any real sustained pressure. The hosts saw the majority of the ball but failed to break down the resilient Rothosen midfield and defence marshalled, as Fürth were energetically wasteful throughout.
Stefan Ruthenbeck's side did go close on a few occasions throughout the half, but Wulnikowski was equal to them throughout the opening period. Khaled Narey saw a left footed effort easily saved by the 39 year old veteran, whilst Ante Vukušić went the closest to an equaliser after the visitors had taken the lead.
Würzburg make Fürth pay for ineffectualness
The old adage with a 1-0 scoreline is that the next goal is crucial. If Fürth could get it they'd be right back into the game, yet if the visitors were to add a second it would be curtains for any hope of a comeback.
Die Kleeblätter however continued where they had left off at the beginning of the second half, seeing a lot of the ball but ultimately doing very little with it. Würzburg quite content to soak up the little pressure Fürth could offer, with the prospect of three points away from the Flyeralarm Arena and continued stability in the upper echelons of the table a tantalising one for Hollerbach's newly promoted side.
Zulj's replacement, young Benedikt Kirsch, went closest for Greuther Fürth. His looping, miss-hit cross forced Wulnikowski to tip over the bar, showing how lackluster and ineffectual Ruthenbeck's side had been throughout in that it required unconventional effort to actually trouble the Würzburg goalkeeper.
With a little over ten minutes remaining in the game, Würzburger Kickers would prove that adage spot on as they made sure the three points would be heading back to the far North-West of Bavaria. Once again the goal coming courtesy of a set piece, similarly a corner, which fell to another similar player Pisot, who controlled and lashed a right footed volley through the crowd of players and into the near post. The defender making quite a feat of scoring twice in the same game, after scoring the same number of goals for Osnabrück in their draw with SG Sonnenhof Großaspach last season.
However, die Rothosen weren't done their and added further humiliation onto Greuther Fürth in this Franconian derby as Tobias Schröck added a third moments later. This time it came from open play as Júnior Díaz charged down the left flank before rolling the ball into the path of the defensive anchor, who's first time effort thundered into the Hungarian Megyeri's top right hand corner. Quite what Schröck was doing in that position is unknown, but it was certainly a superb goal or traumtor nonetheless.