So, the football season is underway! Yes, there have been numerous games between the conclusion of Euro 2012 and now, such as the Olympic football tournament, friendlies, some leagues that go through the summer, the preliminaries of European competitions and of course the first matchday of Germany’s second division, but it’s safe to say that now is a good day to start Ludicrous Display’s coverage of domestic football, and what better match to kick it off with than with 2. Bundesliga new boys VfR Aalen taking on the recently relegated 1.FC Kaiserslautern?

The answer, obviously, is very few. Both sides featured in two of the most goal-heavy and entertaining games of the first matchday, Aalen destroying MSV Duisburg 4-1 while Kaiserslautern were held to a 3-3 draw against Union Berlin, thanks to a Mohammadou Idrissou brace. In this game, then, would both teams would continue their goalscoring form?

It didn’t take long into the first half for it to appear as if Aalen and Kaiserslautern were hungry for more goals after last weekend’s exploits in front of goal. The first real chance came the home side Aalen’s way. Slovenian winger Kevin Kampl found Martin Dausch alone on the edge of the box, but the midfielder fired way over.

Not long after – less than a minute, in fact, and the game had been turned on its head. For all of Aalen’s hard work in defence and having the best of the game’s chance so far, it was Kaiserslautern who opened the scoring. Albert Bunjaku was felled in the box, leaving the referee little choice but to present die roten Teufel a penalty. While it could be argued that it was a slightly soft penalty to give away, the Swiss forward tucked home from a penalty he had himself earned, and it was 1-o to Franco Foda’s men.

Kaiserslautern seemed buoyant, playing neatly and retaining the ball well. However, the pendulum swung back the other way, gifting Aalen the momentum: a seemingly potshot cross gifted the newly promoted side a way back into the game, after a Kaiserslautern defender was judged to have touched it with his hand. Slightly less controversial than the last decision, and Martin Dausch made no mistake in scoring – 1-1 with 25 minutes played, and the game was heating up rather nicely.

The game truly opened up hereafter: Idrissou, a new signing for Kaiserslautern, had a goal ruled out for offside, just before Aalen’s Lechleitner did well to keep a ball in touch and then did even better to test Tobias Sippel and earn his side a corner. Little came of the corner, however, and Kaiserslautern began to look more comfortable in the game: eventually taking the lead through some excellent interplay between Idrissou and Bunjaku, the Swiss striker tucking in a neat effort for his second goal of the game. Hendrick Zuck also went close for 1.FCK, who may have felt they should have led 3-1 at half time. Nevertheless, a 2-1 advantage for Franco Foda’s side at half time was thoroughly deserved.

The game hit a lull after half time for a while, leaving those who had craved a goal-fest (it had seemed like it was going to be one at half time) perhaps slightly disappointed. It was however Aalen who created the best of the chances; Lechleitner in particular looked up for the game, creating many opportunities down the right flank to cause Kaiserslautern’s rearguard some problems. Most of the time, however, Tobias Sippel was equal to it.

It was indeed Lechleitner who had yet another penalty appeal: this time turned down, and quite rightly too. The winger struck the ball into a pile of bodies in the box, but it didn’t hit a hand, and there was no intentional movement, so the referee was right to not give the new boys the decision. He also created a few opportunities for Kampl, who miscued the first time and headed over from a free kick the second time. Kaiserslautern were looking more and more withdrawn, satisfied with their slim margin of victory, but the last few moments will have been nervy, with Aalen creating a vast array of chances, and virtually knocking on Sippel’s door every few moments.

In the end, it wasn’t to be for Aalen, but they can take heart in that they played well, especially in the second half. Kaiserslautern edged the game in terms of clear cut chances and in goals scored, and so are deserved winners in their second 2. Bundesliga fixture of the season. And if every game this weekend turns out to be like this, we’ll have a whole lot of entertainment on our hands.