The final day of the 3.Liga lived up to the hype with twists and turns aplenty as no fewer than five teams kicked off the final round of matches with hopes of joining already-promoted Eintracht Braunschweig in next season’s Bundesliga.2.
Würzburger Kickers were in pole position at the start of the day and needed only a point from their match at home against Hallescher FC. Any slip-ups however would open the door for FC Ingolstadt 04 who would
move into the automatic promotion spots if they could win at 1860 München - who themselves had an outside shot at a play-off spot along with Hansa Rostock and MSV Duisburg. The Kickers were making heavy going of it, conceding an early goal before drawing level before half-time. However, a second goal for Halle early in the second-half had everyone looking at the score in Munich where Ingolstadt had taken the lead. Die Schanzer doubled their advantage with 10 minutes to go and so now it was a race against time for Würzburg to get an equaliser and secure the precious point needed to take them back above Ingolstadt into the automatic promotion spots. As the clock ticked down and desperation mounted, the Kickers were dramatically awarded a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time. Skipper Sebastian Schuppan stepped up and coolly converted the spot-kick to send the home fans watching in bars and drive-in cinemas across Würzburg into a frenzy. A further five minutes of added time was played before full-time was blown and Würzburg could finally celebrate what will be only their third ever appearance in Bundesliga.2. Ingolstadt meanwhile will have to pick themselves up and prepare for a play-off tie against Bavarian neighbours 1 FC Nürnberg for the right to join the Kickers and Eintracht Braunschweig in the second tier next season.