The Würzburger Kickers have made their return to German professional soccer after four years and won the relegation play-off against Lok Leipzig. Coach Michael Schiele's Franconians won 2:1 (1:0) in front of their home crowd in the evening and secured promotion to the third division after their 1:0 win in Leipzig the previous week.
Inglorious treble for Lok
For the Saxons, the failure is a particularly bitter one because it is not the first time. In 2020 and a year ago, the legitimate successor to the first German soccer champions VfB Leipzig had already become champions in their regional league division, only to lose the relegation play-off against Verl and Havelse. The model with only four promoted teams from five regional leagues is highly controversial.
Würzburg, on the other hand, can look forward to a return to league three and attractive opponents such as Hansa Rostock or Fortuna Düsseldorf after goals from top striker Jermain Nischalke (30th minute) and Cherif Cisse (72nd).
The Kickers had only finished second in the Regionalliga Bayern, but benefited from 1. FC Nürnberg II dropping out of promotion. Leipzig's Djamal Ziane (71) equalized in the meantime and the counter-attack virtually fizzled out, giving Würzburg the lead again in front of 10,717 spectators.
