Holsten Kiel strikes late to grab point at Wolfsburg and end road losing streak
Wolfsburg's Patrick Wimmer celebrates scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Holstein Kiel, at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Credit: AP/Swen Pförtner
WOLFSBURG, Germany — Relegation-threatened Holsten Kiel scored a late equalizer to draw at Wolfsburg 2-2 in the Bundesliga on Friday and snap a run of five consecutive away defeats.
The home side came into the game having scored a club record 40 goals in its first 18 games but it had a frustrating first half and went in a goal down thanks to a 13th-minute header from David Zec.
Wolfsburg coach Ralph Hasenhüttl introduced Patrick Wimmer at the break and it took the Austrian winger just five minutes to make his mark, slotting under the advancing goalkeeper after he was put through on goal by Jonas Wind.
Three minutes later, Wind put Wolfsburg ahead when he headed home from a corner.
But Hasenhüttl’s counterpart Marcel Rapp was also busy, making five changes in the second half, including giving a debut to recent American signing John Tolkin.
However, it was another of the replacements who grabbed the equalizer in the 80th against the run of play.
Steven Skrzybski squeezed a low shot between the keeper and the post to give Kiel a share of the points.
Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind celebrates scoring during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Holstein Kiel, at the Volkswagen Arena in Wolfsburg, Germany, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Credit: AP/Swen Pförtner
Kiel remained second from bottom but two points ahead of last-placed Bochum, while Wolfsburg rose one spot to sixth.
Before kickoff, both sides lined up with a banner declaring “WeRemember” to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp on Jan. 27, 1945.
German clubs mark the occasion every January to commemorate those murdered by the Nazis.
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