Two former German internationals strike for the Lions
In a topsy-turvy game, the Lions first took the lead and then fell behind, before Daniel Bierofka's 74th minute equaliser ensured a share of the spoils in Eastern Germany.
Despite the optimism after last weekend's battling home win against SSV Jahn Regensburg, 1860 Munich knew they had their work cut out as they travelled to the East to take on the once-mighty Dynamo Dresden.
Dresden are normally roared on by a vociferous home crowd but for this Monday evening clash less than ten thousand fans turned up. Measures imposed by the German Football federation (DFB) after crowd trouble last season, meant that Dresden had to limit the crowd capacity. The atmosphere therefore in the stadium was not what it might have been, and presented a decent opportunity for the Lions to secure a vital away win.
Those that did make the effort would have enjoyed an exciting game with plenty of goalmouth action.
The Lions went ahead in the 18th minute through Benjamin Lauth. The former German international striker repeated his goal from last season's win in Dresden. In March, Lauth's single goal proved the difference, but it was not enough to grab all three points this time around. The home side equalised on 38 minutes when Dresden's Beninese striker Mickael Poté superbly headed in an inch-perfect ball from defender Sebastian Schuppan.
Careless mistakes that had gone unpunished foretold continued problems for the visitors, and the worst of it came in the form of an unfortunate own goal. Polish defender Grzegorz Wojtkowiak was at full-stretch attempting to clear a cross, but his clearance went in off the post, past a helpless Lions' goalkeeper Gábor Király.
The Lions could no longer sit back and passively defend as they had seemingly been doing since Lauth's opening goal. Soon after falling behind, Coach Reiner Maurer was forced into a few substitutions to change the course of the game. First Daniel Halfar came on for Maximilian Nicu, and then striker Ismael Blanco replaced midfielder Moritz Stoppelkamp.
The substitutions had the desired effect and sparked new life into the visitors. 1860 attacked with more vigour and finally displayed the enthusiasm that had previously been lacking for large periods of the game. In the 74th minute, substitute Halfar played in Daniel Bierofka, and the former German international fired home the equaliser that would ultimately secure a valuable point.
On Sunday, 1860 travel to minnows Hennef 05 for a German Cup 1st round fixture. 1860's next league match is away to fellow promotion contenders Kaiserslautern on 26th August.
