Huge pulse for Lok Leipzig: Who will make it to the 3rd league?

Huge pulse for Lok Leipzig: Who will make it to the 3rd league?

On May 29, 2025, the focus will be on football fans when TSV Havelse welcomes 1. FC Lok Leipzig for the second leg for promotion to the 3rd league at the Wilhelm Langrehr Stadium. The encounter will take place on Sunday, June 1st at 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on SPORT IM OSTEN on MDR TELEVISION and streamed on the SpiO app. The broadcast premiere begins at 12:30 p.m. with a 45-minute preliminary program that includes a film about VfB Leipzig, current voices and a review of the first leg. MDR sports director Raiko Richter also thanks the management of Lok Leipzig for their understanding of the reduced ticket contingent for away fans, which is of great importance in such competitions.

In the first leg, which took place at the Bruno Plache Stadium in Leipzig, the teams played out a 1-1 draw. This game attracted 10,080 spectators and was characterized by high intensity. While Leipzig dominated after initial difficulties, there were numerous chances on both sides. The Leipzig players Dombrowa and Ziane in particular were on the offensive, but were not able to score anything (yet). Ilic Havelse took the lead in the 89th minute, but just seconds later Cevis equalized for Leipzig, securing the draw. Both teams are now fighting for the last available promotion spot for the coming 2025/26 season and the excitement could hardly be greater.

Promotion mode and pressure on Lok Leipzig

Promotion to the 3rd league takes place according to a special mode that has been changed several times since the league was introduced in the 2008/09 season. Since the 2020/21 season, the current promotion mode has been that there are four promoted teams and in the event of a tie in goals in the promotion round, extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout are necessary to determine the decision maker. This significantly increases the pressure on the teams, especially in crucial games like this second leg between Havelse and Lok Leipzig. The loser will lose the opportunity for promotion for at least another season, while the winner can look forward to promotion to the third highest German league.

Last season, four teams were promoted, and the promotion round opened one of the most exciting chapters in German football. The importance of this second leg couldn't be clearer as the North and North East teams fight for their chance at higher honors. The history of the promotion rounds also bears witness to the intensity and nerve-wracking nature of such games, which is often only decided in extra time or in a penalty shootout.

So it remains to be seen whether Lok Leipzig will keep their nerve at this crucial moment and can get their ticket to the 3rd league or whether TSV Havelse will have the upper hand to achieve promotion themselves. The anticipation for the second leg on June 1st is likely to be great among both players and fans.

As a reminder, the promotion round of the last five years shows that promotion is often decided in nerve-wracking duels, with a large number of games going into extra time or decided on penalties. These statistics underline the importance of each game in this format and demonstrate the challenges that everyone involved must overcome.

So for visitors to the stadium on Sunday it could be the moment they have been waiting for and for the players the chance to fulfill a dream.

MDR reports on the second leg between Havelse and Lok Leipzig

Kicker has documented the details of the first leg

The Wikipedia page highlights the promotion mode in the 3rd league