An almost unbelievable own goal from Aias Aosman meant that Dynamo Dresden slipped to a narrow 1-0 away loss at SpVgg Greuther Fürth on Friday evening.
Team news
Janos Radoki wasn't afraid to make changes as he saw fit after the Shamrocks lost 1-0 to VfL Bochum last weekend as Adam Pinter, Andreas Hofmann, Patrick Sontheimer and Veton Berisha came into the side. That meant Jurgen Gjasula, Benedikt Kirsch, Sercan Sararer (bench) and Robert Zulj (injured) missed out.
As for Uwe Neuhaus and Dynamo, they were equally keen to bounce back - this time after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Fortuna Düsseldorf. That saw Fabian Müller, Giuliano Modica and Aosman restored to the line-up, with Niklas Kreuzer, Jannik Müller and Niklas Hauptmann dropping to the bench.
Fürth on top
Fürth began the brighter of the two sides and an early effort from Marco Caligiuri was a sighter of what was to be a difficult half for Dynamo. They didn't help themselves either, as an under pressure Marvin Schwäbe's pass to an equally under pressure defence eventually saw Patrick Sontheimer shot wide of an open goal from 20 yards.
The hosts were the stronger side in the first half an hour, as a Dynamo side backed by a 2,500 strong travelling support really struggled to get going in the early stages. That same sluggishness was evident when Khaled Narey skipped past a wayward challenge before advancing into the box, though his shot was saved by the sprawling Schwäbe.
Serdar Dursun's attempted bicycle kick was evidence of how things had slowed, such was the nature of his effort that it went straight up into the air before he connected with a second bicycle kick to send the ball over the bar. The final moments of the half saw Dominik Schad denied by a strong block from Florian Ballas as the first period ended level.
Aosman attacks at both ends
Between the two sides, there would be just the single alteration during half-time as Neuhaus opted for a defensive switch. Jannik Müller made his way onto the pitch in place of Giuliano Modica. The defensive switch was tested straight away, as the Shamrocks picked up where they left off after the interval.
The introduction of Mathis Bolly for Narey added even more pace to that right hand side, though it was on the left and through Schad that the youngster saw his curling effort dip narrowly over from. Some more pressure and a few hopeful attempts on goal were finally broken by an Andy Gogia break, which saw him fire just off target on the angle.
Then came the two decisive scenes in the game. The first saw Aosman try to send Dresden ahead, though his desperate attempt to nudge the ball into the far corner saw his cute effort trickle narrowly wide. At the other end, Aosman connected perfectly with a cross and kneed the ball into the far corner from 20 yards. Quite simply, unbelievable.
Gogia again wasted a great chance as he blazed over the bar on the rebound, as the visitors' pressure was negated by a strong Fürth back-line. They held on for the win to take them just three points behind Dynamo, in what could be the season where they break the league point record and finish above 1. FC Nürnberg for the first time in over 60 years.