Ernst Middendorp is standing in the stadium. © Jörg Niebergall/Eibner-Pressefoto/dpa
SV Meppen has won its last home game of the current third league season and thus helped the actually unloved Lower Saxony rivals VfL Osnabrück in the promotion race. The Emslanders, who had already been relegated, won 4-1 (0-1) against promotion candidates Dynamo Dresden on Monday evening and thus improved to 17th place.
Meppen - Standings.
Thanks to the Meppen victory, VfL Osnabrück now has promotion to the second division in their own hands. If the Purple-Whites beat Borussia Dortmund's reserves on Saturday and defend their better goal difference against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, coach Tobias Schweinsteiger's team will be promoted directly.
In front of 9767 spectators, Ahmet Arslan had given the promotion favourites from Saxony the lead in the 24th minute with a foul penalty. Bruno Soares scored a well-deserved equaliser for the Emslanders in the 69th minute. Shortly before, Dresden's Kyu-Hyun Park had seen yellow-red.
After that, the people of Meppen played themselves into a little frenzy. Sascha Risch (79'), Jonas Fedl (88') and Marek Janssen (90'+2) scored for the hosts, who were celebrated by their fans after the final whistle as if they had managed to stay in the league after all.
Meanwhile, those responsible are pushing ahead with the planning for the regional league. Coach Ernst Middendorp should also play an important role in this. However, it is still unclear whether the veteran will continue to work as a coach or as a sports director for the SVM. "Both issues can play a role. We know that he has a great deal of expertise," said Meppen's CEO Andreas Kremer at Magentasport. The club wants to present a solution by the weekend. Dpa