Dynamo Dresden 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf: Rouwen Hennings's dramatic winner seals Bundesliga promotion

A dramatic late winner from Rouwen Hennings sealed a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Dresden, confirming Fortuna Düsseldorf’s promotion back to the Bundesliga.

Friedhelm Funkel’s men got off to the dream start when Florian Neuhaus put them ahead, but they failed to build on that lead and substitute Moussa Koné levelled things up in the second half.

It looked like they would be left to wait, but in the final minute of normal time Hennings’s strike confirmed their ascension from the 2. Bundesliga. Dresden find themselves still just two points clear of safety.

Neuhaus gives Düsseldorf a dream start

Whilst results later in the weekend could have done the job for them anyway, Düsseldorf knew a victory would return them to the Bundesliga for the first time since their solitary-season spell in 2012-13. Coach Funkel is not a believer in never changing a winning team, but for once there were no alterations from their 3-0 victory over FC Ingolstadt 04. Dresden changed two from their win against now-relegated 1. FC Kaiserslautern, with Manuel Konrad and Pascal Testroet in for Marco Hartmann and Koné.

The early exchanges saw Florian Ballas head over for the hosts whilst Marvin Schwäbe punched away a Kaan Ayhan free-kick, however Düsseldorf would need just nine minutes to take that all-important lead. Neuhaus, likely to return to parent club Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer despite Fortuna being determined to keep him, made it all himself, finding space and time from outside the box to fire past Schwäbe.

They had opportunities to try to double that lead in the minutes after, but another shot from Neuahus went wide whilst Robin Bormuth header from the corner bounced into the ground and over the bar. Meanwhile a Julian Schauerte cross found Hennings in the box. He tried to knock the ball towards goal but his contact couldn’t change its trajectory.

At the other end they did well to shut out the hosts, who became increasingly confident in going forward as the half wore on. Raphael Wolf didn’t have to make any significant saves but marshalled his box well, otherwise his defence stepped up to keep out a number of balls that were played into the box, especially from Dresden’s right. At half-time, they were 45 minutes away from the Bundesliga.

Koné inspires Dresden recovery

The second half started evenly, although the introduction of Koné at the interval for Dresden was having a positive impact. He wasn’t involved though as they hit the post, their best chance of the game at that point. Erich Berko supplied to ball to Testroet, who placed his shot to the nearside of Wolf, but the woodwork denied him.

A second goal didn’t look likely at this stage for Düsseldorf, and the re-energised hosts would soon bring them level. Countering from a corner, Haris Duljevic rushed forward on the right, eventually laying off to Koné. He struck towards goal, and although Wolf got a hand to it, he could only watch as the ball trickled into the back of the net.

The visiting side were lacking any real fizz in their performance now, despite needing to score again to achieve their number one goal. Kaan Ayhan did head over a Niko Gießelmann cross, whilst Takashi Usami struck well wide. In between, they had another major scare. Testroet headed the ball down to Koné, who managed to get his shot above Wolf but failed to get the dip he needed to score, seeing the ball go over.

Hennings seals promotion in dramatic fashion

Funkel turned to Benito Raman and Havard Nielsen for inspiration, with the latter having a big chance kept out by Schwäbe. Wolf then denied Testroet at the other end, with Dresden still keen to win the game themselves.

Then in the 90^th minute, it happened. Nehaus was involved again, picking out the pass to Hennings, who until now had had a quiet game. Nevertheless, on the turn, he placed his shot perfectly, beating Schwäbe, and Düsseldorf led again.

Dresden pushed for another equaliser in stoppage time, but it wasn’t to be and results elsewhere, with FC St. Pauli and SV Darmstadt 98, did not go tier way. It was all about Düsseldorf though at the final whistle, as they celebrated a promotion that rewards their consistency in a season where so few other teams have found any. They return to the Bundesliga after five years away.