Southwest rivals 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Karlsruher SC played out a goalless draw on Sunday afternoon in the 2. Bundesliga.
The in-form home side were unable to break down a team that looked increasingly content to come away from the game with a draw, forcing the Red Devils to settle for a share of a points for the second time in a week.
However that was despite Jacques Zoua being controversially denied a goal early in the second half, even though it was teammate Osayamen Osawe who had strayed offside before he headed in.
Oral makes five changes in attempt to halt losing run
Kaiserslautern appear to have finally turned a corner under Tayfun Korkut after a poor start to the season. Korkut kept faith with the side from the 1-1 against 1860 Munich on Monday, a result which had ended a run of three consecutive wins, having won just one match before that.
Karlsruhe, who started the game in the bottom three, lost 3-1 to SV Sandhausen eight days earlier, their third defeat in a row and fourth in five games, and Tomas Oral made five changes from the team that started that match.
Martin Stoll, Marin Sverko, Yann Rolim, Grischa Prömel and Florian Kamberi all came in, and of the five players to drop out, only Erwin Hoffer was on the bench.
Hosts the better side but can’t find breakthrough
The game started in a chamber of smoke after the away fans had let off pyrotechnics just before kick-off. Despite the poor visibility the officials decided it was safe for the players to start the match after only a brief delay.
In a reflection of the sides’ current fortunes, it was Kaiserslautern who started the better of the two sides. Osawe was lively, but it was Marcel Gaus who had the best chance to opening the scoring, He missed the ball with the goal gaping after a cross from Christoph Moritz.
Karlsruhe struggled to leave their mark on the game. The closest they came was from a free-kick taken by Moritz Stoppelkamp. It was headed out of danger by Ewerton, only to find Hiroki Yamada. His strike was deflected by Patrick Ziegler, away from Julian Pollersbeck, but fortunately for the goalkeeper it went wide.
The chances would also dry up for the hosts though. Lukas Görtler had a shot saved by Dirk Orlishausen and Phillipp Mwene had attempt go out for a corner, but it would remain goalless at the break.
Zoua denied goal moments after coming on
The second half began quietly, but just before the hour it came alive once again. Rolim found Kamberi on the right, leaving him through with only Pollersbeck to beat, however the German under-21 international keeper blocked his shot.
Just minutes later, Kaiserslautern thought they had finally broken the deadlock. Zoltán Stieber perfectly placed his free-kick, and Zoua, who had come on literally moments before, headed it in.
The celebrations were cut short though when it was disallowed for offside, however it had been Osawe, not Zoua, who had moved forward a moment too soon. He had been close to Zoua when he struck though, meaning the assistant referee may have felt he was still interfering with play. A controversial call nonetheless.
It was a much more open game after that, and Karlsruhe had a Kamberi shot saved by Pollersbeck, but increasingly it was the home side who were getting the bulk of the chances.
Moritz and Osawe were amongst those to put shots over, whilst a Stieber forced a save out of Orlishausen after a short free-kick routine with Moritz and in stoppage time Ewerton headed over. However by now Karlsruhe looked happy with the draw, and despite the Kaiserslautern pressure, that is exactly what they got.