2. Bundesliga: Paderborn produce second-half rally to defeat Dresden
2. Bundesliga: Paderborn produce second-half rally to defeat Dresden It was far from straightforward for the hosts, who trailed at the break following Vincent Vermeij’s headed opener. However, a second-half double from substitute Steffen Tigges completed a timely turnaround.
Dresden fashioned the first major opportunity after just 13 minutes, with Vermeij racing through on goal, only to be denied by a superb last-ditch challenge from Felix Götze, who prevented what looked a certain opener. The visitors continued to threaten and were rewarded in the 32nd minute from a set piece. Jonas Sterner’s deep corner to the back post found Vermeij, who powered a header beyond Dennis Seimen to hand Dresden a deserved lead heading into half-time.
The contest opened up early in the second half, with both sides committing bodies forward. Dresden came close to doubling their advantage when Ben Bobzien drove into the area and fired goalwards from a tight angle, only to see his effort crash against the crossbar. Christoph Daferner then missed a golden opportunity when sent clean through, and that miss proved costly.
Moments later, Paderborn levelled as Götze delivered an inviting cross into the box, where Tigges rose to head past Tim Schreiber and make it 1-1. The equaliser sparked a clear shift in momentum, with Paderborn growing in confidence and pushing for a winner. After sustained pressure, they found their breakthrough five minutes from time.
Tigges struck again, meeting a near-post corner with a header that crept in, with Schreiber caught in no man’s land. Paderborn saw out the closing stages, including three minutes of stoppage time, to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches and move up to second place, at least temporarily. Dresden, meanwhile, suffer their first defeat in five and remain 12th.