FC St. Pauli has taken the next step towards promotion to the Bundesliga. The leaders won 2-0 (1-0) at 1. FC Nürnberg on matchday 26 of the second Bundesliga and are currently eleven points ahead of Fortuna Düsseldorf (43) in third place. Hamburger SV (41) could win this back on Sunday with a win against Wehen Wiesbaden.
Johannes Eggestein (44th) and Marcel Hartel (62nd) sealed St. Pauli’s 15th win of the season. FCN remains in the middle of the table after two wins in a row. In front of 45,629 fans in the Max Morlock Stadium, the Kiezkickers created an increase in chances in the first round with clear superiority, but the shots remained too harmless for a long time. That only changed shortly before half-time when Eggestein ended his drought of twelve games without a goal with a header.
After the break there were signs of life from Nuremberg’s offensive. St. Pauli’s goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj defused a shot from Jens Castrop (49′). But with his 14th goal of the season, Hartel extended the lead on the other side after a counterattack.
Kiel wins in Elversberg
Holstein Kiel is also marching towards the Bundesliga. Coach Marcel Rapp’s team won 2-0 (1-0) at SV Elversberg and secured second place behind league leaders FC St. Pauli. Shuto Machino (39th) and Philipp Sander (49th) scored the goals in Kiel’s 15th win of the season. Newly promoted Elversberg is still in the middle of the table. The guests took control of the game from the start and initially had a difficult time against Elversberg, who were defensively compact. The favorite hardly had any chances in the first round.
Shortly before half-time, Nicolai Remberg fed Machino, who deliberately took the lead. After the change, Kiel followed up with the captain. Sander’s shot was deflected unstoppably. Before kick-off, sports director Carsten Wehlmann confirmed to Sky that Sander would be moving to Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer. Then he might meet his old club in the Bundesliga.
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Hansa Rostock continued its upward trend in the relegation battle. The Rostock team defeated the Greuther Fürth game association 1-0 (1-0) and, after their second win in a row, kept their chance of staying in the league as sixteenth place in the table. Nico Neidhart (40th minute) scored the only goal of the game. In front of 24,500 spectators in the Ostseestadion, Hansa dominated the game from the start, defended consistently and created chances. Svante Ingelsson (30th) with a header and Kevin Schumacher (35th) finished too hastily.
Shortly before the break, Neidhart pushed the ball over the line to make it 1-0 after strong preparatory work from Ingelsson. The home team also had a significant increase in chances in the second half, but missed the second goal through Neidhart (50th), Kai Pröger (51st), Junior Brumado (53rd) and Kevin Schumacher (58th). In the heated final phase, the guests, who had been far too reserved for a long time, pushed for the equalizer. The best opportunity was missed by Armindo Sieb, who shot the ball just wide from a central position (77′).