Accompanied by riots in the stands, league leaders FC St. Pauli kept third-place Hannover 96 at bay in the second Bundesliga. The top game in the Millerntor Stadium, which was briefly interrupted on Friday evening due to a police operation in the guests’ fan block, ended 0-0. From the 75th minute onwards, fans of Lower Saxony got into a heated argument for a reason that was not yet known – first among themselves and then with the police officers.
At times there were violent fights and throwing of cups and poles. The 96 supporters took down their banners and stopped supporting. The game, which took place parallel to the Winterdom fair, which opened right next to the stadium, continued after about five minutes. “These are scenes that don’t belong in a football stadium,” said Hanover coach Stefan Leitl. “It’s a shame for the game because the flow of the game is interrupted,” said Pauli’s substitute captain Marcel Hartel. The 27-year-old added about the sport: “Today we lacked a bit of consistency.”
His coach Fabian Hürzeler struggled with the draw. “Nevertheless, I am satisfied with the performance,” he said and particularly praised the defensive performance. According to statistics, 96 did not have a direct shot on goal. Leitl was satisfied with the draw. The game previously provided fans with few highlights. The hosts were the better team after a balanced start. Johannes Eggestein missed the great chance to take the lead (16th). Six minutes later, Elias Saad beat 96 goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler with a deflected shot – the goal did not count due to an offside position by crosser Oladapo Afolayan.
Schalke loses against Elversberg
Many mistakes accompanied the first half. This continued in the second round. If anything, the hosts became dangerous. St. Pauli continued to dominate the game. Once again the hapless Eggestein missed the lead with his header (78′). The strong winger Saad repeatedly caused dangerous actions in front of the 96 goal. But no more goals were scored. Hannover remains in the relegation place for the time being, five points behind. If HSV wins in Kiel on Saturday (1 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the 2nd Bundesliga and on Sky), the city rivals can draw level with St. Pauli on points. HSV could only overtake with a big win.
After two recent wins, FC Schalke 04 suffered another setback. Schalke lost to newcomers SV Elversberg 1:2 (1:2) and are still stuck in the bottom of the table. The strong Saarlanders, on the other hand, managed to get back into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season. Paul Stock (7th minute) and Jannik Rochelt (21st) gave Elversberg the early lead.
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Kenan Karaman (35th) scored Schalke’s goal. In the second half, the hosts were the better team, but were unable to convert their chances to score. Unimpressed by the largest crowd in the Elversberg club’s history to date in the Schalke Arena, which was almost sold out with 61,110 spectators, the guests shocked their opponents with two quick goals. Stock took advantage of Schalke’s negligent defensive behavior to take an early lead.
14 minutes later, the goalscorer provided the assist for Rochelt’s goal. Due to their sleepy opening phase, Schalke were always behind and for half an hour they found no remedy at all against Elversberger’s courageous play. With Karaman’s goal, Schalke got better, and from then on coach Karel Geraerts’ team pushed for the equalizer in an entertaining game. Karaman and Henning Matriciani had several best opportunities after the break, but the goal was never scored.
