As the season draws ever closer, this Saturday saw the majority of the 2. Bundesliga take to the field with vastly contrasting results.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-1 FC Wegberg Beeck

In what could, and probably should, have been a routine win for the Westphalians turned out to be anything but. Frank Kramer said it was "unacceptable".

Didier Ya Konan, on his debut, gave Fortuna the lead before the half hour mark, only to be quickly pegged back by the Regionalliga side.

Despite five new signings on the field, a late penalty earned the minnows a famous draw - much to the dismay of the 2. Bundesliga team.

RB Leipzig 15-0 Kickers Markkleeberg

There were no such problems for RB Leipzig and Ralf Rangnick, who brushed aside their opposition with ease.

Davie Selke scored his first goals for the Bulls, which turned into a very impressive first-half hat-trick. Patrik Dzalto matched his fellow forward by netting a treble in the second period.

Stefan Hierländer added a late brace, and Federico Palacios-MartinezDiego DemmeJoshua EndresGeorg TeiglDominik Kaiser and Rani Khedira also chipped in with goals. Though Rangnick wasn't completely happy, saying: "There is still room for improvement."

SV Sandhausen 1-0 Würzburger Kickers

It was a close run affair in this encounter, providing Sandhausen with a stern test ahead of the upcoming season.

The game took a while to get going and chances were initially at a premium, though Andrew Wooten struck with ten minutes to go and sealed the win.

Alois Schwartz will have been pleased with how many chances his side created, even if quite a few were wasted.

Arminia Bielefeld 8-0 Flichte Bielefeld

The 163rd derby game between the rivals ended in yet another comprehensive win for the now 2. Bundesliga club.

Fabian Klos picked up where he left off last season, scoring a hat-trick before Bashkim Renneke hit a quick-fire double in the second-half.

Goals from Manuel Junglas, Dennis Mast and Samir Benamar rounded off the scoring.

TSG Dülmen 0-11 VfL Bochum

Bochum made it three wins from three in pre-season, as they put in a very impressive performance against their Bezirksliga opponent.

Nando Rafael hit a treble, complimented by Simon Terodde and Michael Maria's braces.

Anthony Losilla, Janik Haberer, Piotr Cwielong and youngster Gökhan Gül added to the huge victory total.

Karlsruher SC 0-1 SC Lahr

Perhaps the most shocking result of all the day's play was Karlsruhe's loss to the Verbandsliga neighbours.

Karlsruhe were moments away from reaching the promised land of the Bundesliga last season, though were undone by the minnows on Saturday.

Dimitri Holm's strike on 10 minutes was enough to earn an unlikely win that their supporters will treasure for years to come.

1. FC Union Berlin 10-1 MSV Neuruppin

Union Berlin were another side that hit double figures, and they did it without Sebastian Polter - despite what a rouge team-sheet suggested in the build-up.

Marcel Weckwerth had given MSV a shock lead, though goals from Collin Quaner, Fabian Schönheim and Bajram Nebihi quickly turned the game on its head.

The second-half was a rout. Quaner scored again, Steven Skrzybski, Christopher Quiring and Damir Kreilach added to the score-line before a late Sören Brandy triple made it ten.

1. FC Heidenheim 17-0 FC Ellwangen

Heidenheim enjoyed a comfortable victory, scoring more than any other 2. Bundesliga team that day.

It was a rout from start to finish, with Adriano Grimaldi's hat-trick the highlight of the game.

Robert Leipertz, Marc Schnatterer, Daniel Frahn, Ben Halloran and Smail Morabit all notched up braces, as Timo BeermannDominik Widemann, Dave Gnaase and Julius Reinhardt capped a fine day for Frank Schmidt's side.

FSV Frankfurt 10-1 SG Eintracht Ober-Mockstadt

Despite their bus getting stuck in a ditch on the way to the ground, and needing a crane to remove it, FSV Frankfurt had a smooth ride in this encounter.

Papa Ibou Kebe, Edmond Kapllani and Zlatko Dedic all managed hat-tricks, as the goals flowed from the front-men.

Ardian Kulic replied for the hosts, though Fanol Perdedaj was on hand to round off the scoring and notch up his first Frankfurt goal.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth 9-0 ATSV Erlangen

Fürth will certainly hope to continue this goalscoring form into the season, as they struggled to find the net last campaign.

Domi Kumbela netted a hat-trick, with fellow new signing Jurgen Gjasula also scoring for the Shamrocks.

Florian Trinks, Tom Trybull, Sebastian Freis and Goran Sukalo's brace sealed a well-deserved win.

MSV Duisburg 14-0 TV Voerde

Duisburg were another side to reach double digits, as the Zebras recorded their fourth victory in pre-season.

Kevin Scheidhauer managed to net four times and Stanislav Iljutcenko a further three, accounting for half of the goals.

Kevin WolzeAhmet EnginMartin DauschZlatko JanjicThomas Bröker and Andreas Wiegel also got on the score-sheet in a comprehensive victory.

1. FC Kaiserslautern 5-1 Regional select side

Lukas Görtler was the man to score in the first half, as Kaiserslautern could only manage to get into the break level pegging.

That all changed in the second period, and they went on to net four more goals.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]