First defeat of the season
St. Pauli makes a surprising slip-up
February 10, 2024, 2:56 p.m
The pitch in Magdeburg is in poor condition, which is causing problems for second division leaders St. Pauli. The Hamburg team surprisingly lost 0-1 – to the delight of HSV. Meanwhile, Braunschweig is making up ground against KSC, Fortuna and Elversberg are drawing.
1. FC Magdeburg – FC St. Pauli 1:0 (0:0)
Leaders FC St. Pauli suffered their first defeat of the season in the 2nd Bundesliga and failed to take advantage of the opportunity. In the unexpected 0-1 (0-0) defeat at relegation candidate 1. FC Magdeburg, the Kiez club came away completely empty-handed for the first time in the current race for promotion to the Bundesliga, one day after their pursuers Hamburger SV lost 3-4 against Hannover 96 .
The Paulians are currently five points ahead, but Holstein Kiel could move up to three points on Sunday. The FCM gained breathing room in the relegation battle after two games without a win. St. Pauli’s knockout on the board was sealed by Baris Atik 18 minutes before the final whistle. The 29-year-old scored his third goal of the season.
St. Pauli didn’t get into the game well in the first half despite their initial superiority. The guests had virtually no chances to score. The FCM, on the other hand, gained more possession of the ball as the playing time increased, but missed their best opportunity through Herbert Bockhorn.
After the break, the league leaders acted more strongly, but Hamburg still did not create any compelling opportunities. Nevertheless, the hosts, who were able to at least temporarily increase their lead over the relegation zone, surprisingly took the lead. Both teams repeatedly had problems with the pitch in Magdeburg. For St. Pauli it is the first league defeat since April 2023 – back then against HSV.
Eintracht Braunschweig – Karlsruher SC 2:0(1:0)
Eintracht Braunschweig has left the relegation zone for the first time in over five months. Coach Daniel Scherning’s team deservedly won 2-0 (1-0) against Karlsruher SC and moved past Kaiserslautern and Rostock to 15th place, at least for a few hours.
Hasan Kurucay gave the Lions the lead with a penalty kick in the 13th minute. Ermin Bicakcic made it 2-0 in the 75th minute. It was Eintracht’s fifth win from the last six games. In contrast, KSC’s eight-game unbeaten streak ended. The Karlsruhe team remains in midfield.
The KSC dominated the game in the first half, but repeatedly got stuck against the well-positioned Eintracht defense. The hosts went on the counterattack, but the lead resulted from a foul by Christoph Kobald on Bicakcic after a corner. Even after the change, the guests had more possession of the ball, but lacked penetration. In contrast, Eintracht appeared ice-cold when defender Bicakcic struck after a corner.
Fortuna Düsseldorf – SV Elversberg 1:1 (1:0)
Fortuna Düsseldorf continues to lose ground in the promotion race. Coach Daniel Thioune’s team couldn’t get past a 1-1 (1-0) draw against newly promoted SV Elversberg and, despite being clearly superior, missed their first win in the fourth league game of the year.
Isak Johannesson (19th) scored for the Rhinelanders, who dominated the game for long stretches. Joseph Boyamba (53′) equalized for the guests, who remain firmly in the middle of the table. Fortuna got off to a strong start: First Christos Tzolis narrowly missed the target with a header (11th), then Johannesson scored to give Düsseldorf the deserved lead – Vincent Vermeij had headed a cross from Nicolas Gavory.
Ao Tanaka carelessly missed the great chance to make it 2-0 when he finished completely freely to the center (32′). The equalizer came as a surprise: Jannik Rochelt broke through on the left and Boyamba effortlessly converted his cross. The hosts were visibly shocked and then found it very difficult to create scoring opportunities.