The FC Carl Zeiss Jena women's soccer team are edging ever closer to relegation from the Bundesliga. On matchday 23, the team from Thuringia, who are bottom of the table, lost 3:4 (1:2) at penultimate-placed SGS Essen. Three matchdays before the end of the season, Jena is now seven points behind the 12th place that Hamburger SV occupies. The Hanseatic side had taken their tally to 18 points the day before with a 1-0 win at 1. FC Nürnberg.
Essen, on the other hand, can now draw hope from their 15 points. Ella Touon scored after just six minutes against the unstructured visitors at the Hafenstrasse stadium. Two minutes later, Jacqueline Meißner made it 2:0 after a beautiful pass from Touon. Rieke Tietz reduced the deficit to 1:2 after a gift from Essen goalkeeper Kim-Lea Sindermann.
After the break, Meißner again restored the lead after a Touon free-kick (56') and Touon increased the lead a minute later after Meißner's assist. Melina Reuter gave the visitors hope once again with her second goal in the 61st minute, and substitute Helen Börner restored parity in the 72nd minute. But it was no longer enough to secure a point.
