Halle FC pulled a 3:2 (1:2) win out of the fire in the basement duel at MSV Duisburg on Tuesday. Ahmet Engin (15th, 32nd) had put the penultimate club twice in front. Timur Gayret (27), Dominic Baumann (76) and Jonas Nietfeld (87) scored for the Red & Whites, who saw Niklas Kreuzer make his comeback after recovering from cancer and almost six months out of action. The right-back was substituted for Julian Eitschberger in the 69th minute. Duisburg finished the match with only ten players. Joshua Bitter (59) was shown the red card after a tackle from behind on Tarsis Bonga.
After a fifteen-minute period of feeling things out, events came thick and fast. After a counter-attack initiated by Santiago Castaneda, Niklas Kölle crossed for Engin, who only had to push the ball over the line from close range. However, the team from Halle coped well with the deficit. Gayret headed a free-kick from Besar Halimi into the net to make it 1:1. However, the visitors' joy at equalizing lasted just five minutes. Engin slid a backpass from Thomas Pledl into the net from eight meters.
