Arminia Bielefeld threw away a 2-0 lead to share the points with Erzgebirge Aue, keeping both sides in the 2. Bundesliga’s bottom two.

Bielefeld had stunned their visitors with two goals in the opening four minutes, with Christoph Hemlein and Julian Börner exposing them yet again from set pieces.

However Aue, under interim coach Robin Lenk for the first time, stayed in the game and were allowed back into it in the second half with a Michael Görlitz own goal and Sebastian Schuppan effectively assisting Nicky Adler’s equaliser.

Basement battle

Following wins for relegation rivals Karlsruher SC and FC St. Pauli on Saturday, the sides came into this game as the bottom two in the league, with Bielefeld having just a one point advantage over Aue.

After holding Hannover last weekend, Bielefeld then put in a more than respectable display in defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal in midweek. Jürgen Kramny made two changes from that tie, with Reinhold Yabo and Keanu Stadue in for Tom Schütz and Sören Brandy.

This was the first game for Aue since the resignation of Pavel Dotchev during the week. That came after the 4-1 hammering against Dynamo Dresden last week, with Lenk placed in interim charge.

He made four changes for his first game, two of which were enforced. Fabian Kalig, Clemens Fandrich, Fabio Kaufmann and Cebio Soukou came in for the suspended Calogero Rizzuto, the injured Simon Skarlatidis as well as the benched Louis Samson and Albert Bunjaku.

Bielefeld expose Aue’s set-piece deficiencies in lightning start

It was a dream start for the hosts, but something from Aue’s worst nightmares. Having conceded three times against Dresden from corners, it was little surprise when the first goal came in the same fashion. Christopher Nöthe headed the corner ball goalwards, it took a wicked deflection of Fabian Kalig, and Hemlein got a toe on it to beat goalkeeper Martin Männel.

That was in just the second minute, and in the fourth Börner got the second. Stephan Salger free-kick was whipped in from the right, and Börner rose highest to connect and send the home side into raptures.

After the initial excitement the game settled into a much scrappier pattern. Aue had more of a foothold in the game, but both sides were guilty of committing too many fouls, although only Hemlein got into trouble with referee Robert Kempter.

The only further chances for Bielefeld came when Nöthe sent a Hemlein cross wide, whilst Fabian Klos and Staude almost combined before being intercepted by Sebastian Hertner. Aue had one shot on target, but rarely troubled Wolfgang Hesl’s goal.

Defensive errors allow Aue to save themselves

The second half began as the first ended, but Aue showed some signs of life when a cross from Kaufmann was put over by Pascal Köpke. The Aue striker will have wished he could have done better.

It didn’t make too much difference though as Aue soon did pull one back. Again it came from a Kaufmann cross, with Köpke and Soukou in the middle, but instead it was Görlitz with the vital touch to beat his own goalkeeper Hesl.

Adler and Mario Kvesic had been brought on from the bench, and the former set up the latter in the box, only for Kvesic’s shot to be blocked by Görlitz in the box, with a clear use of a hand. The referee gave nothing, although Görlitz could have done more to get his hand out of the way. Meanwhile Christian Tiffert and Staude had shots go over at either end.

However moments after Nöthe had an excellent chance blocked by Kalig, Aue went down the other end and equalised. A long cross from Steve Breitkreuz was headed by Schuppan straight to Adler, who punished him for his careless defending.

It would finish all square. Aue looked the more likely to get the winner, although in stoppage time chances went begging for both Klos and Schuppan. The feeling for Kramny’s men though would have been this was one that got away.

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