1. FC Magdeburg suffered a setback in the race for promotion to the Bundesliga. In front of 12,030 spectators at SpVgg Greuther Fürth, the second division club could not get past 1:1 (1:1). Magdeburg's Baris Atik (20') equalized Noel Futkeu's opening goal (17'). FCM slipped out of the promotion places in the table.
"It feels more like two points lost. We had one or two chances that we didn't finish," said Atik on Sky. Looking ahead to the upcoming games against Hamburg, Hannover and Kaiserslautern, the creative mind emphasized: "We have to keep thinking from game to game. Our thoughts are definitely not on matchday 34."
FCM coach Christian Titz had to make massive changes to his starting XI. Patric Pfeiffer and Tobias Müller replaced the suspended Marcus Mathisen (10th yellow card) and the injured Jean Hugonet in the back three. Abu-Bekir El-Zein replaced Mohammed El Hankouri in midfield and Atik returned to the starting eleven after serving his suspension.
The match began on an even keel, with both teams trying to gain security by controlling the ball. Magdeburg's Martijn Kaars had the first chance to score, but failed to reach a rebound in time (6th minute).
