Results crisis over, self-doubt banished - Hamburger SV has found new courage in its long fight to return to the top flight and fended off SC Paderborn's attack on the top of the table in a spectacular manner.

Thanks to the 3:2 (2:1) in the top game in the second division, which is worth seeing, against the highly traded East Westphalia, a negative series of the last three competitive defeats came to an end. After goals from Robert Glatzel (23'), Jean-Luc Dompé (45') and László Bénes (69') in front of 15,000 spectators, coach Tim Walter's team returned to direct promotion places in second place and reduced the gap to leaders SV Darmstadt 98 to one point.

Even the false start of the game with the early goal by Robert Leipertz (3rd minute) did not shake the former Bundesliga Dino this time. With great commitment, team spirit and a lot of speed, Glatzel and Dompé made the turnaround before the break. Even after Leipertz's second goal, the North Germans showed a positive reaction. Bénes ennobled the nice preparatory work of the strong Dompé with an untenable long-range shot into the net.

Darmstadt remains at the top of the table. But with growing staffing needs, the clout of the previous weeks is gradually being lost. In the draw in St. Pauli, coach Torsten Lieberknecht's team had to settle for a 1-1 draw for the second time in a row. Lieberknecht was nevertheless full of praise: "We have shown that we have stability despite our massive personnel situation. I take my hat off to my team all the more."

96 one of the winners, disillusionment in Bielefeld

With recent remarkable consistency, Fortuna Düsseldorf is approaching the promotion places. The third win in a row came in a 2-1 duel with Holstein Kiel. Dawid Kownacki, who scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute, sees the team on the right track: "We're back on track and have finally started to win away. That we did that in a difficult game against An equal opponent gives us more self-confidence." Fourth-placed Heidenheim is only one point ahead of Fortuna after the 1-1 draw in Magdeburg.

In addition to Düsseldorf, Hanover was also one of the big winners of the 14th match day. Hendrik Weydandt's goal (56') to make it 1-0 over Karlsruher SC paved the way to fifth place - despite only winning for the second time in five league games.

Arminia Bielefeld is back on the bottom of the table. A week after the acclaimed victory against St. Pauli (2-0), disillusionment returned to East Westphalia in the basement duel between the Bundesliga relegated team and Greuther Fürth. Out of frustration at the 0:1 and the ninth defeat, Fabian Klos swore everyone involved to a difficult season with a high risk of relegation: "The situation sucks and it will continue for a long time. We have to come to terms with it and do everything we can to make it happen that she's not like that at the end of the season. I hope that we can do it, with a lot of cohesion in the whole club."