Football thriller: Erfurt and Meuselwitz draw 3-3 in the derby!

Football thriller: Erfurt and Meuselwitz draw 3-3 in the derby!

The Thuringia derby between FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt and ZFC Meuselwitz ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw on Sunday, October 26, 2025 in the Steigerwaldstadion. With 5,925 spectators, the atmosphere was characterized by passion and excitement, which always boils up in this duel between the two teams.

The start of the game clearly belonged to the hosts. Obed Ugondu opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a follow-up shot from a rebound and gave the team the early lead. But the joy was short-lived, as just five minutes later Sofiane Ikene unfortunately equalized for Meuselwitzer by sending a header into his own net. Florian Hansch even gave the guests the lead in the 29th minute - it seemed as if Erfurt would fall on their face again against Meuselwitz, as they had not won the last five duels MDR reports that ….

Exciting second half

In the second half, Erfurt showed that they didn't want to admit defeat so easily. Marco Wolf turned the game around with two goals within a few minutes - first he put Erfurt back in the lead in the 48th minute with a low shot, followed by a precise long-range shot in the 52nd minute that made the spectators cheer. But the joy didn't last long, as Christoph Pauling equalized again for Meuselwitz in the 69th minute. He brought the ball over the line after a follow-up shot and continues to leave the story between these two teams open we find out from the official website.

The final phase of the game was characterized by intense duels and several chances on both sides. Particularly exciting was the opportunity for Meuselwitz to make it 3-4 through Kuro Oke, but Erfurt's captain Gabriel Schwarz was able to defuse the shot and thus prevent defeat for his team. Erfurt's defense also had to prove itself, having already had problems with set pieces this season.

Unbroken dominance from Meuselwitz

The statistics speak for themselves: ZFC Meuselwitz remains unbeaten in the sixth competitive game in a row against Erfurt. Coach Georg-Martin Leopold can rely on his team's support because he has never lost against Erfurt in his entire time as coach. Erfurt under coach Fabian Gerber will definitely have to think about how they can get their defensive problems under control in the future in order not to fall further behind in the table, where they are currently third, while Meuselwitz is in 14th place.

In summary, it can be said that the derby once again showed how exciting football can be in the Free State of Thuringia. The next attempt for FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt will certainly aim to turn the traditional rivalry around and finally win against Meuselwitz again. It remains to be seen whether they can gain the necessary self-confidence in the coming games.