DUISBURG, May 7 (Bundesliga) - Duisburg goalkeeper Tom Starke is already
writing off his side's chances of avoiding relegation as they prepare to welcome
German champions Bayern Munich to the MSV-Arena on Saturday.
The 27-year-old took his frustration out on his team-mates for the way they
performed in a 2-0 midweek defeat to Nurnberg which left them with an uphill
struggle to avoid dropping into the second division.
'To be honest, I am absolutely furious with what we did,' said the
goalkeeper.
'I saw absolutely nobody fighting throughout the whole 90 minutes.
'It was a catastrophic performance and just because Nurnberg retreated after
leading means in no way that we played any better.'
With two games of the season remaining, the relegation issue is the most
dramatic in the Bundesliga with three of five teams set to fall through the
trapdoor.
Hansa Rostock are propping up the division with 27 points, five fewer than
Arminia Bielefeld in 15th place - the final safe position.
Nevertheless, their coach Frank Pagelsdorf is refusing to throw in the towel
ahead of his side's clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday where anything other
than a win would condemn the northern Germany side to relegation.
'Until it is mathematically impossible, we will still try everything,' he
said.
However, wins for Nurnberg in Berlin and Bielefeld against Dortmund would mean
a win would be worthless for Rostock on Saturday.
And after beating Duisburg in midweek, Nurnberg are confident they can now
complete a great escape.
'These three points were absolutely necessary,' said coach Thomas von Heesen
on Wednesday.
'We now have every opportunity.'
The Bavarians have occupied one of the last three positions in the Bundesliga
for over five months, but now trail Bielefeld by one point while Energie Cottbus
are not safe yet either.
'We need two points from the last two games,' said Cottbus coach Bojan
Prasnikar, who would prefer to get those on Saturday against Hamburg.
At the top of the table, the midweek round of matches ensured Werder Bremen
and Schalke both qualify for the Champions League next season, and the race is
now on to finish runners-up to Bayern and earn direct entry into the group
stage.
Bremen hold a two-point advantage as they host Hannover on Saturday while
Schalke entertain Eintracht Frankfurt.
Below them, four clubs are still vying for two places in the UEFA Cup with
Wolfsburg the latest to throw their hats into the ring.
'We now have a final for a place in the UEFA Cup against Stuttgart on
Saturday,' announced their manager Felix Magath after his side closed to within
three points of fourth-placed Hamburg thanks to a 3-2 win in Frankfurt on
Wednesday.
Leverkusen and Hamburg, who have each won just one of their last eight games,
have tricky trips to relegation-threatened Rostock and Cottbus respectively.
Saturday's other game sees Karlsruhe host Bochum with both sides already
looking forward to the summer break safe in the knowledge they will be playing
Bundesliga football again next season.
