As of: April 27, 2024 10:48 p.m
FC St. Pauli has come a big step closer to promotion to the Bundesliga. Hamburg won 1-0 (0-0) against FC Hansa Rostock on Friday and moved to the top of the 2nd league table. Feared fan riots did not materialize.
Because Holstein Kiel surprisingly lost to 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday, the Kiezkickers will go into the city derby next Friday at HSV as league leaders. It is already clear that coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team will be Hamburg’s best team in the finals for the first time since the Bundesliga was founded. St. Pauli could also complete their promotion with a win at the Volksparkstadion.
Finally, the Brown-Whites’ lead on matchday 31 over third-placed Fortuna Düsseldorf (1-1 on Saturday evening at Schalke 04) increased to seven points. A cushion of points that should be enough three game days before the end of the season to make the jump to the first floor. St. Pauli has already secured third place in the relegation zone.
Further information
The remaining program of the top second division teams at a glance. Also there: FC St. Pauli, Holstein Kiel and HSV. more
Captain Jackson Irvine scored the decisive goal with a header (52nd) on Friday evening in the sold-out Millerntor Stadium with 29,000 spectators.
“It was a deserved win. We struggled a bit in the first half and made a few too many mistakes. But in the second half we had the game completely under control, played it very cleverly and didn’t have anything at the back That’s why in my opinion the victory is fine,” said defense chief Hauke Wahl in an interview with NDR.
Rostock sold themselves dearly, but remained too harmless in attack. “We didn’t allow much and were on the verge of a surprise. I think it was a good away game for us,” said defender Alexander Rossipal to NDR. However, the Mecklenburgers slipped into a direct relegation zone on Saturday thanks to Kaiserslautern’s victory in Kiel.
HSV loanee David prevents St. Pauli from taking the lead
St. Pauli had almost 70 percent possession of the ball in the first half, but were unable to put the guests under sustained pressure. Hürzeler’s protégés repeatedly made wrong decisions in the final third of the field. Many attacks were rushed. The home team’s best chance before the break did not result from a combination, but from a break-out, after which Johannes Eggestein had a clear path towards the Hansa goal against the Rostock defense, which had moved too far.
What then followed was perhaps the trick of the season: HSV loanee Jonas David rushed up and chipped the ball off Eggestein’s foot at the last moment (41′).
AUDIO: Rostock’s Alexander Rossipal: “That gives us courage” (3 min)
Hansa strong, but unlucky in the finish
The neighborhood club didn’t have much more to offer offensively in the first half. Rostock was even the more dangerous team in a game that was played very intensely by both sides. Coach Mersad Selimbegovic’s team, which had changed six positions compared to the 2-0 defeat against 1. FC Magdeburg on the previous matchday, showed a very courageous and clever performance and repeatedly switched quickly after winning the ball through high pressing. However, as was the case throughout the season, the results remained room for improvement.
Juan-José Perea was denied twice by keeper Nikola Vasilj (19th, 33rd). However, with his first chance, the Colombian was offside, so the goal would not have been recognized anyway. Nevertheless, the relegation candidate could be satisfied with his performance at halftime.
Further information
Results, table standings and match days at a glance. more
“Football God” Irvine scores from Hartel’s corner
After the break, the Mecklenburg team’s hopes of a surprise on the Reeperbahn were quickly dashed. First, Hansa was lucky that Aljoscha Kemlein put a header next to the goal (47th) and shortly afterwards failed with a lob to keeper Markus Kolke (52nd). With the corner kick that followed, seconds later, the Rostock team lost sight of one of the St. Paulians’ strongest headers in Irvine. The Australian, called “Football God” by his own fans with as much reverence as he was loving, nodded the standard kicked by Marcel Hartel into the net.
AUDIO: St. Pauli coach Hürzeler: “Overall satisfied with the performance” (2 min)
Rostock cannot find an answer to the deficit
Hansa tried to find an answer to the deficit. But the guests lacked the footballing resources to tear apart St. Pauli’s now much more secure defense. The Selimbegovic team simply couldn’t get any depth into their game. The home team was also stingy with successful offensive moves in the increasingly disjointed encounter.
It was clear to Hürzeler’s protégés that defending the narrowest of all leads was their top priority. It didn’t look pretty, but considering the importance of the victory it was practical and definitely legitimate.
Further information
VfL Osnabrück, Eintracht Braunschweig and Hansa Rostock are at the bottom. The remaining program of the relegation candidates at a glance. more
Feared fan riots do not occur
While things got heated at times on the pitch, there were no clashes between the supporters of both clubs that had been feared in the run-up to the high-risk game. The Hamburg police said shortly before kick-off in the Millerntorstadion that everything remained calm. Two separate marches by fans of FC St. Pauli and FC Hansa Rostock also took place without any major incidents. There have been repeated, sometimes serious, riots at meetings between the northern clubs in recent years.
For many spectators, the journey to the stadium was made more difficult by a serious train accident at Hamburg Central Station. According to the police control center, a construction train derailed under the Ernst Merck Bridge in the afternoon when it crashed into the bridge. S-Bahn and long-distance traffic was significantly affected.
Matchday 31, April 26, 2024 6:30 p.m
FC St. Pauli
1
Hansa Rostock
0
Tore:
FC St. Paul:
Vasilj – Nemeth, Wahl, Mets – Saliakas, Irvine, Kemlein, Metcalfe (85. Dzwigala) – Afolayan (87. Amenyido), J. Eggestein (90.+3 Boukhalfa), Hartel
Hansa Rostock:
Kolke – van der Werff (75. Stafylidis), David, Rossipal – Strauß, Vasiliadis (70. C. Kinsombi), Dressel, Ingelsson – Bachmann (84. Singh) – Perea (84. Gudjohnsen), Fröling (70. Pröger)
Viewers:
29163
More information about the game
Further information
Three northern clubs are playing at the top, three are fighting to stay in the league. And a club from the north can slowly but surely plan for another second division year. more
This topic in the program:
Hamburg Journal | April 26, 2024 | 19:30 o’clock