Dusseldorf (dpa) - Fortuna Dusseldorf missed a relief in the fight against relegation from the Bundesliga. Even 80 minutes in number and a double set by scorer Rouwen Hennings (5th minute / 77th / penalty) were only enough for a 2-2 (1-1) against 1899 Hoffenheim.
In the meantime, the Rhinelanders had to fear the third loss under coach Uwe Rösler. Munas Dabbur (16.) with his first goal of the season and Steven Zuber (61.) had temporarily turned the game for ten Hoffenheim players. Benjamin Huebner had seen the red card in the ninth minute of his first game after a yellow-red suspension because of an assault.
For the eighth time under coach Rösler, Düsseldorf went in the front, but again did not win. The Fortunes, who cannot get away from Relegation Square 16, could only win one of these games. With four more games to go, the Rhinelands now have to face the Champions League aspirants Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. Midfielder Adam Bodzek is missing against BVB after his tenth yellow card. Hoffenheim remains sixth with 43 points from 30 games in the race for the European Cup.
Referee Sören Storks and video referee Christian Dingert in Cologne caused a stir at the beginning. The decisions on the red card against Hübner and on a non-given goal by Hennings (18th) were at least debatable. Less than ten minutes had passed, and the game was over for Hübner. In front of a corner, Hübner's hand struggled into the face of Fortuna's defense chief Kaan Ayhan. Storks immediately pulled out red - hard, but justifiable.
At this point, the Fortuna was already 1-0. Hennings, who had not played at Bayern Munich's 0: 5, justified his return to the starting line-up with his 13th goal of the season. The striker was too free after a cross from Kevin Stöger and could head in unhindered. Despite being outnumbered, the guests quickly equalized, as the Fortuna was also disorganized in a standard situation. After a free kick from Robert Skov, Fortuna goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier saves against Stefan Posch, the rebound then pushed Dabbur over the line. For the Israeli international, it was Hoffenheim's first goal after his move from Sevilla in winter.
Immediately afterwards, Hennings headed again to the supposed Düsseldorf tour. Storks gave the gate at first, but was asked by Dingert in Cologne to look at the scene again. There had previously been a dogfight between Dusseldorf's Kenan Karaman and Posch, which Storks had not seen as a foul. Since this was not a clear wrong decision, Dingerts intervention intervened. In fact, Storks then took the gate back.
Fortuna patiently made the game and started attack after attack. From then on, this resembled a handball offensive game. Again and again the Dusseldorf played the ball along the penalty area in search of a gap in the busy Hoffenheim defense, which of course did not open. Fortuna played well and was in possession of the ball permanently after the dismissal. The Rhinelander did not make enough of this.
Hoffenheim defended and deftly countered. Zuber finally used one of the few liberation campaigns for flattering leadership. Rösler reacted with a fourfold change and his players with further angry attacks. This was finally rewarded by Stork's penalty whistle after a push from Havard Nordtveit against Erik Thommy. So Hennings still got his double, but his team did not win again despite another storm run.
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