1. FC Kaiserslautern earned a vital 2-0 win over SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Saturday afternoon, as Jacques Zoua and Christoph Moritz get on the scoresheet.
Team news
The hosts and Norbert Meier made just one change from the side that drew nil-all against VfL Bochum in midweek as Daniel Halfar dropped out for Sebastian Kerk.
As for the Shamrocks, Janos Radoki opted for a double switch following their scoreless stalemate with Eintracht Braunschweig. Niko Gießelmann and Sercan Sararer were replaced by Jurgen Gjasula and Serdar Dursun, in a bid to ffreshen things up.
Red Devils at the double
The game began evenly, with little in the way of chances. However, the early opening fell to Fürth and Khaled Narey but he thumped Johannes van den Bergh's volley over.
Despite that early scare, it was Kaiserslautern who took the lead and in some style. Tim Heubach isn't known for pulling out passes that the elite midfielders of world football can only dream of, but the defender somehow perfectly picked out Zoua's run from inside his own half. A calm touch and head saw him fire past Balazs Megyeri.
Had it not been for a strong tackle from Marcel Franke, to keep him out a second time, Zoua would have been through on goal once again. Robert Zulj's free-kick represented the only real purposeful move into the Red Devils' half in the remainder of the first period, though that went flying over.
Further pressure from the hosts saw them go close on several occasions before a wonderful team goal just before the break gave them breathing space. Moritz started the move in his own half before driving forward to meet Philipp Mwene's pass on the edge of the area. The midfielder spun quickly, and finished with ease to double the hosts' lead.
Second half fails to spark
With the potential for the visitors to have to come out and attack after the restart, that never materialised. David Raum and Sararer replaced van den Bergh and Veton Berisha early in the second half. However, the changes had very little in terms of a positive effect on the game as Kaiserslautern remained comfortable.
An elongated period of play that saw nothing of note happen summed up the second half. However, there was some late action. Narey broke through on goal but could only fire straight at Julian Pollersbeck, and another Zulj free-kick was whipped into the side-netting. The Shamrocks remain sixth, while Kaiserslautern stay 14th.