Karlsruher SC have been relegated to the 3. Liga, as 1. FC Kaiserslautern came out 1-3 winners at the Wildparkstadion thanks to goals from Kacper Przybylko, Sebastian Kerk and Jacques Zoua. David Kinsombi scored for the hosts.
Team news
Marc-Patrick Meister made five changes following their 4-0 defeat at SV Sandhausen last week as Martin Stoll, Dennis Kempe, Franck Kom, Oscar Zawada and Fabian Reese were restored to the side. Jordi Figueras, Charalampos Mavrias, Hiroki Yamada, Erwin Hoffer and Stefan Mugosa.
Kaiserslautern head coach Norbert Meier opted for two alterations, following their 1-0 triumph against 1860 Munich. Daniel Halfar and Kacper Przybylko came in for Osayamen Osawe and Sebastian Kerk.
Perfect start for the devils, Kinsombi with his first goal
The Süd-West-Derby could not have started any better for the visitors. Przybylko headed home a beautiful cross from Marcel Gaus, as Karlsruhe's defending was nowhere near good enough. The following 20 minutes were dominated by Kaiserslautern, making it look like a training match against harmless hosts. Meister's men did not cause any trouble in the opponents box until the 30th minute.
KSC tried force things and eventually made their way through, as Matthias Bader picked up some pace along the right wing. His cross found Franck Kom, whose attempt was blocked. Zawada and Reese also had a shot each, both were blocked by the compact FCK defence.
Five minutes later, Yann Rolim was fouled outside the penalty box, giving the hosts a central position for a free-kick. David Kinsombi stepped up and, from around 25 yards, snuck the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards and past Julian Pollersbeck's attempt to keep it out.
The match picked up some roughness and tension towards the end of the first half, while Karlsruhe had the opportunity to take the lead just before the half-time whistle. Dennis Kempe crossed into the box and found Zawada. His attempt to tap in the ball just missed the target, though.
Karlsruhe kept pressing, Kerk scored from the bench
The second half saw Karlsruhe enjoy more possession. The blue-whites pushed for a second goal and were very close to taking. However, several chances from the hard-working Reese and Zawada went begging. In the 66th minute, it all became worse for die Badener.
Bader brought down Gaus in the area and a penalty was awarded. Kerk first missed, and then scored the rebound to make it 2-1. Meister subbed on Mugosa and Yamada, but it did not help the hosts. With three minutes to go, Zoua ended it all and finished off a superb cross from Kerk to make the final score 1-3.
Kaiserslautern collected three very important points, whereas Karlsruhe were officially relegated.