Fortuna Duesseldorf Moves to Top Flight After Aggregate Win Over Berlin

 Duesseldorf joins Greuther Furth and Eintracht Frankfurt to be promoted to the Bundesliga.  A 4-3 aggregate win over Hertha BSC Berlin assured the promotion.  Berlin will be playing in the 2. Bundesliga next year.

Fortuna Duesseldorf started the relegation battle with a 2-1 victory in Berlin.  This made it difficult for Berlin to win the second leg by aggregate in Duesseldorf.

It took less than a minute for Fortuna Duesseldorf's Maximillian Beistner to score the first goal after a low pass from Ilsoe. He took the pass went around Roman Hubnik and fired a shot from 23 meters in the lower right corner of the net.  1-0 Duesseldorf (aggregate 3-1).

Berlin gained in composure as the game went on and it finally paid off for the Berliners in the 23rd minute, when Ronny took a freekick from the left side perfectly into the box and Ben-Hatira went up to put a header into the right corner of the net.  1-1 (3-2 Duesseldorf aggregate).

After one half of play, Duesseldorf initially put on the pressure which resulted in the first goal in just 25 seconds, however Berlin got better as the game went on.  It eventually got Berlin the equalizer.  With the pressure placed on Duesseldorf the result could have been much more in favour of the Berliners.

As the second half started Berlin continued to control much of the game.  However a Yellow/Red card,  in the 54th minute, given to Ben Hatira, he fouled Lambertz, gave Duesseldorf a one man advantage.

Just five minutes later Jovanovic's goal in the 59th minute gave Duesseldorf a 2-1 lead, 4-2 aggregate.  Thomas Broeker delivered a pass into the six meter box, where Jovanovic put it away with a header just inside the post. 

Duesseldorf kept the pressure on Berlin and missed a couple of excellent chances.  A lapse in Duesseldorf's defence gave Berlin the opportunity to equalize the the match, when Raffael snatched up the ball from Ramos and placed it in the lower right corner. 2-2.

After an extensive delay, when fans thought the game was over, the game continued for the last 90 seconds.  Duesseldorf managed to hang on for a 4-3 aggregate win and is promoted to the top flight.

Hertha BSC Berlin:  Thomas Kraft - Holland, Hubnik, Janker(Patrick Ebert 72nd( , Lell (Rukavytsya 72nd) - Kobiasshvili, Niedermeyer - Ben Hatira, Raffael, Ebert - Ramos

Fortuna Duesseldorf:   Ratajczak - Van den Bergh, Langeneke, Lukimya-Mulongo, Levels - Lambertz (Juanan 89th), Fink, Bodzek, Broeker - Beister (Matushyk 77th), Ilsoe (Ivanovic 46th)