Dusseldorf (dpa) – Three north German clubs are in the narrow promotion race of the 2nd Bundesliga for the time being. After a dream start, FC St. Pauli won three important points at SSV Jahn Regensburg and stormed to the top with the 3:2 (2:0).
Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV follow in the table ahead of the Sunday games.
Etienne Amenyido (7th minute), Guido Burgstaller (11th / penalty kick) with goal number 16 of the season and substitute Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (66th) scored in front of 7605 spectators for St. Pauli. Regensburg reared up after the break with great morale, but was only able to shorten the lead twice thanks to attackers Andreas Albers (56′) and David Otto (73′).
Kittel scores on return
Thanks to the returnee Sonny Kittel, HSV also remains a hot candidate in the promotion race. Coach Tim Walter’s team celebrated a 2-0 (0-0) win against 1. FC Heidenheim on Saturday afternoon thanks to Kittel’s brace (63rd minute and 78th, penalty kick) and thus the third win in a row against a top team the 5:0 in Darmstadt and the 2:1 against St. Pauli.
With 40 points, HSV came within one point of arch-rival and leader Werder Bremen, who celebrated their seventh consecutive win under new coach Ole Werner in a 2-1 win in Rostock on Friday. The two founding members of the Bundesliga meet on February 27th in the Volksparkstadion. Darmstadt 98 (39) before the game at Hannover 96 and Schalke 04 (37) before the west duel at Fortuna Düsseldorf (both Sunday 1.30 p.m. / Sky) are also in the middle.
Nuremberg loses sight of the top
For the time being, 1. FC Nürnberg (33) seems out of the running for the return, for which it was a week after the 0:5 against Ingolstadt a 1:4 (1:1) at Karlsruher SC. Paderborn (32) gambled away better prospects in the top flight because of the chronic weakness at home.
“You know from the people of Heidenheim that they run like crazy. But we can also run like crazy and play football,” said match winner Kittel. He was absent from the Robert Glatzel Festival in Darmstadt because of a yellow card suspension. On Saturday he came on for David Kinsombi. Unlike in previous years, HSV seems to be able to gain in the second half of the season. Kittel: “I know that you don’t like to hear that. But we think from game to game. Everything else makes no sense.”