Havelzé hosted Stuttgart II in the opening round of the 3. Liga Regular Season on Saturday, and the visitors claimed a 3–2 victory despite trailing twice. The match ended with Stuttgart moving to ninth place while Havelzé dropped to seventeenth.
And here's the thing about the first half — it opened with a flurry. N. Tauer gave Havelzé the lead inside the first minute, but Stuttgart pressed forward and A. Groiss equalised just before the break at forty-two minutes. Yellow cards for L. Penna, M. Lamby and K. Wriedt marked a physical start, and Havelzé made an early change at half-time when Penna was replaced.
By then Stuttgart had found their rhythm. J. Tugbenyo restored Havelzé's advantage at forty-nine minutes, only for T. van der Leij to level at seventy. The decisive moment came at seventy-eight when J. Malanga finished a move to put Stuttgart ahead, and Havelzé made their final substitution at the hour mark when K. Wriedt came off.
The statistics tell a familiar story: Stuttgart dominated possession at sixty per cent and registered ninety attacks compared with Havelzé's sixty-seven. Both sides registered four shots on target, but Stuttgart's higher volume of attacks — and Havelzé's inability to convert — proved decisive. Shots off target were eight for the visitors against two for the hosts.
The result leaves Stuttgart six points from the bottom half of the table after four games, while Havelzé sit on three points with only one victory so far. The visitors have now won two of their opening four matches, while the hosts have lost three of four.