2. Bundesliga ~ Unforgetable comeback

[Freddy Adu]

Unforgetable comeback

bundesliga.de looks back at matches no one will forget. Today: the 4-4 draw between Karlsruher SC and Hansa Rostock on November 20, 2006.

The Monday evening matches in the 2. Bundesliga are always billed as the ones to watch. Of course, not all of the matches live up to the billing, but what happened on November 20, 2006 in Karlsruhe was not only one to watch, but one for the ages.

First ranked against second

Coming into the match, the two teams could not have been more evenly matched. Both were on top in the table, with same amount of points. And neither had lost a match.

Wildpark Stadium was packed to the rafters, with only a few empty seats in the away team section, not surprsing given that fans would have to travel 800 kilometres on a Monday evening.

Home team fast and furious at the start

The loyal Hansa fans who did make the trip must have been asking themselves early on in the match if it might have been better to stay at home.

The home team started the scoring quickly, with Edmond Kapllani (6th min.), Massimilian Porcello (16th min.) and Bradley Carnell (28th min.) making it 3-0 before the half.

The sense that the match would take on a special meaning began to come into focus when Porcello scored the 2-0 goal on a free kick from an unbelievable 40 metres.

KSC doesn't let up

The beginning of the second half saw much of the same as Iranian player Amir Shapourzadeh (54th min.) cut the lead for Hansa, only to see it return to three points on a score by Sebastian Freis in the 63rd minute.

With 15 minutes before time, it looked like the match would most likely result in a 5-1 blow out for KSC, as Rostock had shown nothing to this point to prove otherwise.

15 minutes were enough

With the home team seemingly cruising to victory, Shapourzadeh (78th min.) scored again, followed then in rapid succession by Christian Rahn (81st min.) and finally the equaliser by Djordjije Cetkovic (87th min.).

15 minutes was all it took for Hansa to steal a point in the table instead of conceding three to their opponents. "We really showed we could pull together", said the overjoyed Hansa coach Frank Pagelsdorf.

The level of competition in the match was a clear indication of what these teams were capable of, later demonstrated by their promotion to the Bundesliga in May 2007.

Christof Greiner / Translation by Brian Frank