Holstein Kiel secured a victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf in a crucial 2. Bundesliga fixture, boosting their position in the relegation battle.
Both head coaches made early substitutions due to injuries to John Tolkin and Christian Rasmussen. The Dane attacker initially threatened early but was substituted after the third-minute chance, with Marin Ljubicic entering the field.
The hosts dominated play with several notable opportunities, while several potential penalties were dismissed by the referee. Kiel's only first-half attempt came from Umut Tohumcu just before the break.
Following the break, Kiel opened the scoring through Phil Harres after a link-up between Lasse Rosenboom and Adrián Kaprálik on the right flank.
Fortuna Düsseldorf faced further injury concerns as Luca Raimund and Florent Muslija were substituted, but the visitors intensified their pressing around the 70th minute.
Cedric Itten leveled for Düsseldorf, his 12th goal of the season, before hitting the woodwork four minutes later. Kiel then regained the lead when Ivan Nekic converted a first-time finish from Tohumcu’s cross.
Düsseldorf’s best attempt to equalize came in stoppage time with a direct free-kick; Itten’s first effort and the rebound were blocked by Kiel’s defense. The Swiss forward also had the final two half-chances with weak headers. The win extended Kiel’s successful away form, easing relegation concerns for Tim Walter’s side.
Kiel moved up to 11th in the standings, with the gap to bottom-placed Preußen Münster potentially shrinking to a point if Münster loses to Greuther Fürth in their next match.
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