\n
BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Small-town club Elversberg was runner-up in Germany’s second division on Sunday, clinching promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time. Schalke have already been promoted<\/span>.<\/p>\nEarly goals from Vanbase Conte and David Mokwa gave Elversberg a 3-0 home victory over bottom-placed Prussia Munster and they finished ahead of Paderborn on goal difference.<\/p>\n
Elbersberg will become the 59th club to play in the top division since the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963. <\/p>\n
“It’s hard to understand what happened here,” Elversberg forward Luca Schnellbacher said. “It’s like a dream. I never imagined that (Bayern Munich star) Harry Kane would be sent off at this ground.”<\/p>\n
Elbersberg, a town of 13,000 people in the southwestern German state of Saarland, narrowly missed out on promotion in last year’s election campaign. Play off against Heidenheim<\/span>It was. Relegation from Bundesliga<\/span> Saturday.<\/p>\nElbersburg played at the Fourth Division level until 2022, when they won promotion to the Third Division, but the team only spent one season before being promoted to the Second Division in 2023.<\/p>\n
Hannover empty-handed<\/h2>\n
The three teams went into the final game of the second division tied on points, with both Hannover and Paderborn hoping for an unexpected favor with Elversberg, who had a better goal difference from relegated Munster.<\/p>\n
Hannover led Nuremberg 3-2 and looked set to finish third in the promotion play-offs, but Luka Lochoshvili scored a late goal for the visitors, giving them a 2-0 win over Darmstadt and Paderborn moving past Hannover into third place.<\/p>\n
As a result, Paderborn will face Wolfsburg in a two-leg play-off to decide next season’s Bundesliga play-offs.<\/p>\n
Wolfsburg, who finished third from bottom in the Bundesliga on Saturday, will host the first leg of the play-offs on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“We’re all a little speechless,” Hannover captain Enzo Leopold said of missing out on the play-offs.<\/p>\n
Dusseldorf relegation<\/h2>\n
Schalke won promotion and the second division title with two matches remaining, and the match ended with a 1-0 victory over Eintracht Braunschweig.<\/p>\n
Fortuna D\u00fcsseldorf lost 3-0 to Greuther F\u00fcrth and were relegated to the third division. Furth’s three goals were enough to overtake D\u00fcsseldorf on goal difference and secure a spot in the relegation play-offs.<\/p>\n
Braunschweig is ahead of Furth in goal difference and can expect a season in the second division.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP Soccer: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/soccer<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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