1. FC Kaiserslautern defeated 1. FC Nürnberg in a very entertaining game on Saturday evening (02.09.23). The Palatinate were already leading 3-0 after half an hour. In the end, the guests managed only one regular goal in addition to two unrecognized offside hits, FCK won 3-1 (3-1).
Richmond Tachie gave Lauterer the lead (19′), Tymoteusz Puchacz (26′) and Ragnar Ache (30′) made it 3-0 with a double. Lukas Schleimer shortened the lead for the guests before the break (37′), but no further goals were scored. In the final phase, Nuremberg keeper Christian Mathenia lost through a red card (88th).
Spirited start in Nuremberg
Nürnberg got off to a good start on the road and had two great chances through Benjamin Goller: Julian Krahl deflected a shot from the inside right into a corner (14′), and the Nuremberg attacker narrowly missed the goal for the Palatinate on the second attempt (15′). But then the “Red Devils from Betzenberg” struck.
After a corner was improperly cleared by the club, Kanji Okunuki headed in front of Tachie’s feet, who hit the bottom left with a dream shot from 25 yards out. Puchacz’s goal was also a long-range shot, this time from around 30 meters: Marlon Ritter’s cross from the right again looked for Tachie in the center of the attack and found Puchacz, whose shot deflected slightly and became unstoppable for Mathenia.
FCN: first shocked, then a goal
The guests reacted in shock to the clear deficit and did not produce any useful actions. But then coach Cristian Fiél’s team rallied. When Nathaniel Brown served through the hard-working Goller Schlemmer, who was successful with a long-range shot from about 15 meters, Nürnberg drew new courage. This was almost immediately rewarded when Goller set up Okunuki, who only hit the post from five yards out (41′).
After the break, the guests continued to push hard, but the goal didn’t want to fall. And then Kaiserslautern according to the motto: ‘If you don’t score, then we’ll do it’. Because when the former Fürther Ache was able to withdraw freely from the penalty area after a breakdown in the Nuremberg build-up, the left post saved the “Clubbers” from what was probably the final blow to the neck (56th).
Great exchange of blows, club desperate
After an hour of play, the hosts got back into the game better. The promotion of the hosts in turn opened up space for FCN – the spectators in the Stadion am Betzenberg got their money’s worth in the entertaining game.
When Okunuki crowned his fine performance with a goal (70th), the club supporters smelled the possible equalizer. But referee Arne Aarnink conceded the goal because it was clearly offside. And 1. FC Nürnberg kept chasing the two-goal deficit. The situation did not change during the next celebration either, after Can Uzun, who came on late, served Christoph Daferner, who first failed at Krahl, but was successful in the follow-up (82nd) - again rightly disallowed for offside.
Mathenia rightly sees red
The game was particularly explosive when Nuremberg goalie Mathenia was unable to control the ball after a technical error in the closing stages and rammed the oncoming Terrence Boyd: clear dismissal.
Field player Tim Handwerker put on the goalkeeper gloves and Mathenia’s jersey for Mathenia – and also kept his box clean during the seven-minute stoppage time. Lautern brought the victory home and provisionally moved up to sixth place in the table, Nuremberg slipped down to tenth place before Sunday’s games.
Nuremberg has Fürth as a guest, Lautern against KSC
1. FC Nürnberg meets Greuther Fürth to open the 6th matchday (Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 6.30 p.m.). Kaiserslautern is challenged a day later at Karlsruher SC (1 p.m.).
