RRecord winner FC St. Pauli is the first pursuer chasing the top three teams in the second Bundesliga. Hamburg reduced the gap to Hamburger SV to six points three weeks before the derby. With a 1-0 (1-0) win over Jahn Regensburg, the Kiez-Kicker managed their ninth win in a row on Saturday and matched the second division record of Hannover 96 and the Stuttgarter Kickers.
In addition, St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler is the first coach in the second division to win his first nine games. Regensburg’s Prince Osei Owusu scored the goal for the new fourth-placed team with an own goal (23rd minute). The Hanseatic League initially struggled against the compact guests. St. Pauli slowly gained the upper hand and deservedly took the lead. A high-defended free-kick by Marcel Hartel was unlucky for Owusu to score into his own goal. Shortly before the break (42nd), Manolis Saliakas and Jackson Irivine missed a double chance against the strong parrying Jahn keeper Jonas Urbig.
Regensburg was by no means hiding. The Upper Palatinate were always looking for playful solutions and did not act like a team that was in acute danger of relegation. Sarpreet Singh (54′) and Blendi Idrizi (73′) had the best opportunities. Hamburg goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, who had almost lost the ball before the Idrizi opportunity, was on the post.
Hanover turns the game
Meanwhile, Hannover 96 clinched their first win since the beginning of November and extended the gap to the relegation zone. Coach Stefan Leitl’s team deservedly turned the game around against bottom-placed SV Sandhausen after falling behind and won 3-1 (1-1). The guests from the south-west showed a solid performance at the beginning and benefited from the insecurity of the hosts, but conceded the 15th defeat of the season.
Christian Kinsombi (14th minute) initially scored the lead for Baden-Württemberg, which Maximilian Beier (45+2) equalized despite a weak first half. Defender Derrick Köhn (61st) put Lower Saxony on course for victory. Substitute midfielder Louis Schaub (88th) extended the lead of the 96ers.
After falling behind early on, Leon Jensen saved Karlsruher SC a point against Eintracht Braunschweig. The midfielder scored the goal in the 69th minute on Saturday to make it 1-1 (0-1) after Lion Lauberbach (4th) put the newly promoted team ahead. Immediately after Jensen’s goal, Braunschweig goalkeeper Jasmin Fejzic saw the yellow and red card for complaining. The KSC takes eighth place. The Lower Saxony could not keep up the momentum after the derby victory against Hannover 96 (1:0) and are in 14th place in the table.
