TSG complete miracle survival with aggregate win

There was just one final hurdle for Hoffenheim to overcome in their dramatic battle against relegation, and having made one big step with their 3-1 win in the first leg against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, the task was to see out the result in the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. TSG manager Markus Gisdol made only one change from Thursday's encounter, swapping Sebastian Rudy for Tobias Weis in a line-up that, as expected, received a hostile welcome from the noisy home crowd. Nevertheless, Hoffenheim started the more dangerous team and forced FCK keeper Tobias Sippel into a save in the opening minute. Roberto Firmino's free kick from deep was flicked on by Jannik Vestergaard, but the defender's touch wasn't enough to cause Sippel too many problems.

Another set-piece had the Kaiserslautern keeper sweating soon after, but free-kick specialist Sejad Salihovic could only ripple the roof of the net. A fierce 20-minute spell followed with every Hoffenheim action being booed by the raucous home fans and each counterattack from the side in red being roared forwards. Koen Casteels wasn't seeing much action reach his area though, and instead it was the man in FCK's goal who was the centre of attention once again in the 27th minute. A neat piece of passing play by the visitors resulted in Salihovic playing in Kevin Volland and the youngster was brought down in the box by Sippel. The saviour in Dortmund, with two penalties converted to send Hoffenheim into the relegation play-off, was denied this time as Salihovic saw his strike tipped onto the bar by villain-turned-hero Sippel. Gisdol reacted by withdrawing the already yellow-carded Stefan Thesker for Rudy and switching to a 4-3-3 formation.

Set-pieces cause FCK's downfall

As half time approached, TSG continued to test the ‘Red Devils' from set-pieces and Rudy was adding to the danger for the home team with some testing deliveries. Sippel saved well once again after Salihovic got his head on a free kick, but the FCK keeper couldn't do enough moments later from the same situation. Rudy's ball in found the Bosnian again but Tobias Sippel could only spill the ball in David Abraham's direction and the Argentinean defender ensured the ball crossed the line from close range. Hoffenheim returned from the interval now three quarters of the way to safety, knowing Kaiserslautern would need three goals to force extra time. It took the hosts until the 53rd minute to offer their first real threat to Casteels' goal but he still remained untested after Albert Bunjaku headed narrowly wide from an FCK corner. Hoffenheim responded with a chance to put the game out of sight but the angle for Volland's one-on-one chance made Sippel the favourite and the keeper saved a low shot with his feet.

Kaiserslautern looked to make it a chance that Hoffenheim would regret and set about that path in the 65th minute. 17-year-old substitute Niklas Süle was harshly penalised for a tackle on Mohammadou Idrissou and Alexander Baumjohann stepped up to curl the free kick over the wall and in off the post to level the scores on the night and make it 4-2 on aggregate. Fortunately for the guests, they avoided a double blow after Casteels was picking the ball out of his net again less than a minute later but only after Idrissou had been ruled offside. It was a relief for Markus Gisdol's side and left Kaiserslautern still needing two goals in 25 minutes. That task became even more unlikely with just quarter of an hour to play, when FCK's inability to defend set-pieces cost them once more. Salihovic delivered this time and the other centre back Jannik Vestergaard climbed highest to head in his first goal of the season. The home support now knew that their team needed to score four times and their optimism and loud support disappeared. The TSG back line remained untroubled for the final stages as Hoffenheim ended up comfortably securing a 5-2 aggregate win and with it, their place in the Bundesliga for the 2013/14 season.

Matt Hardy

1. FC Kaiserslautern: Sippel – Dick, Orban, Torrejon, Löwe – Zellner, Borysiuk – Bunjaku (64' Weiser), Baumjohann, Drazan (55' Hoffer) – Idrissou”¨”¨

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim: Casteels – Beck, Abraham (60' Süle), Vestergaard, Thesker (30' Rudy) – Weis, Polanski – Volland, Salihovic, Johnson – Firmino (86' Schipplock)”¨”¨

Goals: 0-1 (1-4 agg.) Abraham (44'), 1-1 (2-4 agg.) Baumjohann (65'), 1-2 (2-5 agg.) Vestergaard (74')Ӭ

Yellow cards: Borysiuk, Sippel, Idrissou, Dick РThesker, Casteels, WeisӬ

Attendance: 49,780Ӭ

Referee: Florian Meyer

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