Mirko Boland's late goal for Eintracht Braunschweig gave the Lions a vital three points, putting them joint top of 2. Bundesliga after a 1-0 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Team news
Kaiserslautern and Norbert Meier were hoping to turn things around after a disappointing run before the international break. He made two changes from the side that lost 2-0 to Arminia Bielefeld, as Stipe Vucur and Christopher Moritz replaced Naser Aliji and the departing Robert Glatzel.
As for Braunschweig, Torsten Lieberknecht's men wouldn't have wanted the stoppage in the season after their last-gasp win over 1. FC Heidenheim gave their promotion charge a huge shot in the arm. He recalled Phil Ofosu-Ayeh and Nik Omladic into the starting eleven, with Maximilian Sauer and Suleiman Abdullahi missing out.
Drab first half
The opening period of the match was rather tedious for the Betzenberg crowd, who saw both sides go for a more physical approach to try and gain an early upper hand. That did see space open up for Philipp Mwene outside the area, though, and his deflected effort saw Jasmin Fejzic react well to tip his drive around the post.
Braunschweig's best opening came from some tight footwork from Christoffer Nyman, though a flurry of blocks kept his attempts to shoot at bay. Hendrick Zuck then had a shot blocked after Nyman finally got free, and then Boland drove the ball straight down Julian Pollersbeck's throat. In truth, it was a first half that was sorely lacking quality.
Action packed second half sees Boland score
The second half began with more excitement than the 45 minutes that had gone previous. Marcel Gaus was the beneficiary of a clever chipped pass to the back post from Jacques Zoua, although his volley was superbly blocked by Ofosu-Ayeh. Gaus was then denied by another great by the Braunschweig defence, who were under real pressure.
That eventually lifted, although not before Sebastian Kerk failed to make the most of an excellent shooting opportunity. From there, a serious of corners and free-kicks eventually ended as Joseph Baffo's header was thumped off the line. Though Kaiserslautern would keep coming, and Kerk brought a good save from the outstretched Fejzic.
Things turned feisty after that, with both sides desperate to win for very different reasons. Matthias Jöllenbeck failed to spot a clear handball from Gustav Valsvik, which raised tensions further. Daniel Halfar then tested Fejzic from 25 yards with a stinging effort, before he clashed with Vucur as both men ended up booked.
It was an increasingly open encounter and the tide decisively swung after Julius Biada had his header saved well by Pollersbeck. Another header would prove to be the difference on the day, as a corner wasn't dealt with at all well by the Red Devils and the masked Boland threw himself at the ball to squeeze it home at the far post.
Lukas Görtler headed over almost immediately after from a fantastic Mwene cross and Glatzel was denied by Fejzic at the death. There was also time for Biada to miss an open goal, but Braunschweig held on to move joint top of the league with VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Union Berlin. As for FCK, they're looking nervously over their shoulder.