Eintract Braunschweig were unable to take advantage of 2. Bundesliga title rivals VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Union Berlin slipping up as they were held to a drab goalless draw by SpVgg Greuther Fürth.

The hosts extended their unbeaten run to nine games with a solid display as both sides held each other at bay. It could have all been very different though if Niko Gießelmann had not had his first half penalty saved by Jasmin Fejzic.

Braunschweig had chances to win it in the second half but were left frustrated, but the point is enough to keep them in the top three.

Two changes each for in-form sides

Losing just once since the winter break, in their first match back against 1860 Munich, Fürth’s resurgence in the second half of the campaign has been an impressive one. They went into this game sixth and looking to chasing down fifth-placed Dynamo Dresden.

Their win at the weekend against 1. FC Heidenheim was the fifth in that run and they made two changes to their starting line-up from that match, with Nicolai Rapp and Serdar Dursun dropping out for Marco Caligiuri and Sercan Sararer.

After Braunschweig’s form dipped enough to see the former leaders drop out of the top three, they have won four of their last five games as the promotion race gets ever more dramatic, albeit against sides not in the greatest of form.

They beat struggling 1. FC Kaiserslautern last time out and also made two changes here. Gustav Valsvik and Domi Kumbela returned at the expense of Nik Omladic and Hendrick Zuck.

Fejzic the hero after Reichel concedes spot kick

The first half was fairly even though neither side created many chances. Kumbela had what turned out to be Braunschweig’s best opportunity of the first half 11 minutes in, but he couldn’t squeeze the ball in from a tricky angle.

Fürth looked marginally the more threatening, with several chances falling the way of Khaled Narey, the best of which was parried wide by Fejzic. Veton Berisha also had the ball in the back of the net for the hosts, but after the referee had halted play for offside.

The game finally got the kickstart it needed when Fürth were awarded a penalty. Ken Reichel came together with Narey, with the contact enough to eventually bring him down. Gießelmann took it, but he didn’t get enough on it to beat Fejzic who tipped it wide to keep the game level, as it would remain up to the break.

Substitutes can’t break the deadlock

The two sides continued to cancel each other out through into the second half. Fürth kept plugging away, but Narey had another shot go over and Sararer had his good run cut off before he could get into the box.

Two good chances though came the way of Braunschweig halfway through the second period. Onel Hernández threatened with a dangerous curling shot, but it went over. Meanwhile Zuck, introduced in place of Joseph Baffo, came close with a free-kick, with Balász Megyeri having to get a touch to make sure it went wide.

Substitutes for both sides had one good last chance to win. On the cusp of the 90 minutes, a decent effort from Suleiman Abdullahi was kept out by Megyeri. Dursun then could have won it for his side with the final touch of the game, but he could only direct his diving header.

So both sides had to settle for a point – one suspects Fürth will be happier with that than Braunschweig.