Bayern Regional League: Unterhaching's first point loss

At the end, emotions ran high, and the Hirsch-Sportpark, filled with 1,872 spectators, was simmering: Unterhaching's already depleted squad lost yet another player, Andy Breuer receiving a second yellow card for his outrage at a hefty tackle by Eichstätt's Bastian Bösl. 99 minutes had already been played. After just under 102 minutes, there was renewed discussion, but referee Büchner denied the hosts a potential penalty and blew the final whistle shortly afterward. And so, after what he called a "wild and very intense" 1-1 draw with strong newly promoted Eichstätt, Sven Bender had to draw a mixed conclusion: "We were able to continue the streak – not the winning streak, but the unbeaten streak. So, keep your heads up, let's keep going."

Third-division relegated Unterhaching had six wins in their first six Regionalliga matches – and for a long time on Saturday it looked as if this streak would continue. The visitors took the lead with their very first chance, although it begs the question whether a free kick from 25 meters is even a real opportunity. Alexander Winkler didn't care; he smashed the ball against the crossbar, and it bounced off the back of goalkeeper Felix Junghan and over the line (16th minute). Eichstätt had plenty of good chances, with Alexander Busch firing over the bar from eight meters without being marked (26th minute), and Haching's Luis Pfluger cleared a header from Elias Herger – also with a header – off the goal line (43rd minute).

"Actually, everything went perfectly. We took the lead, came out of the half well, and played with pressure," said Bender. "But then we missed the chance to make it 2-0." Instead, goalkeeper Erion Avdija got involved in a confrontation with Lucas Schraufstetter, grabbed the Eichstätt player by the collar, and was sent off for it (71'). He was replaced by 17-year-old José Kohler between the posts – and he had to clear the ball out of the net after just five minutes: He brilliantly parried a header, but Lucas Schraufstetter was in the right place and fired the rebound over the line to make it 1-1.

Despite the turbulence in the final phase, the result remained, which Sven Bender acknowledged with approval: "In the end, we can live with the point, because it's not easy being outnumbered." Newcomers Eichstätt also had reason to be satisfied, remaining sixth in the table and within touching distance of the top spots. "We're happy to take the point. I'm really proud of the team," said VfB coach Dominik Betz.

By no means did all of the top teams manage to stay unscathed over the weekend. Burghausen lost 3-1 in Buchbach, which saw TSV overtake SV Wacker and move into seventh place. Aubstadt climbed to third place with a 2-0 win against Augsburg II, while Nuremberg II, after losing 3-0 in Unterhaching a week ago, also lost 3-1 to Vilzing. Promotion hopefuls Würzburger Kickers secured a hard-fought 1-0 win in the Lower Franconia derby against Viktoria Aschaffenburg. Jermain Nischalke scored the decisive goal with a header just under the hour mark. Aschaffenburg's Othmane Elidrissi, 18, on loan from second division Darmstadt, was shown the red card in the 70th minute for a brutal diving tackle on Würzburg's Luke Hemmerich on the touchline. With the win, the Kickers reduced the gap to league leaders Unterhaching to six points.