Thanks to Holstein Kiel’s mistake, FC St. Pauli had the chance to take over the top of the table. And the “Kiezkicker” delivered.
In the parallel games on Saturday, the fans of Elversberg and Hannover experienced a high-scoring game, while Hansa Rostock plunged deeper into crisis in Nuremberg.
FC St. Pauli – 1. FC Kaiserslautern
The hosts were in control from the start and created their first chances. Marcel Hartel (1st) and Manolis Saliakas (3rd) had the first opportunities. The “Red Devils”, without a win for nine games in a row, struggled to fend off the North Germans’ onslaught.
However, the Palatinate team was able to adapt better to their opponents in the period that followed. The hosts had difficulty setting the tone. It was only Hartel’s pass to Saad, who didn’t miss the chance, that gave the Hanseatic League the lead (34′).
At the beginning of the second half, the guests missed the equalizer several times. Luck stood by the St. Paulians several times. Lautern’s Marlon Ritter hit the post (53′), then Saliakas had to clear on the line. St. Pauli’s Oladapo Afolayan (58′) was also unlucky with a shot off the post. Hartel was then successful after a counterattack in the margin to make it 2-0 (64th).
1. FC Nuremberg – Hansa Rostock
Storm jewel Can Uzun, 1. FC Nürnberg made a dream start to the second half of the season and Mersad Selimbegovic spoiled his debut as coach of Hansa Rostock.
With a brace in the 15th and 36th minutes, teenager Uzun was the man of the game in a 3-0 (2-0) win in front of 27,763 spectators. After a nervous start, the Franconians convincingly celebrated their eighth win of the season in the 2nd Bundesliga against Rostock, who were harmless on offense.
In striker Sebastian Andersson’s promising debut, Jens Castrop (51′) took any explosiveness out of the Nuremberg home game with his goal shortly after the break in frosty temperatures. Coach Cristian Fiel’s team can move further up the table, but the Rostock team slipped from relegation place 16 to direct relegation place 17.
SV Elversberg – Hannover 96
SV Elversberg stopped its losing streak and fought for a draw at the start of the second half of the season. The Saarland team drew 2-2 (0-1) from Hannover 96 on Saturday and celebrated winning a point again after three recent defeats.
The guests from Lower Saxony, on the other hand, remained without a win for the sixth game in a row and, like Elversberg, are stuck in the middle of the table. Nicolo Tresoldi scored the goals for Hannover (8th minute/69th). Jannik Rochelt (57th) and Frederik Jäkel (60th) scored for Elversberg.