Kiel is at the top: The need is enormous on St. Pauli

Sunday 20th December 2020

Kiel is at the top
The need on St. Pauli is enormous

Holstein Kiel is Christmas champion of the 2nd Bundesliga. The storks outrun the competition a bit with a win in Sandhausen. Fortuna Düsseldorf aggravates the already big crisis of FC St. Pauli and 1. FC Nürnberg disillusioned Erzgebirge Aue.

SV Sandhausen – Holstein Kiel 0: 2 (0: 0)

Holstein Kiel has secured the "Christmas Championship" early in the 2nd Bundesliga. At the end of the year, coach Ole Werner's team deservedly won 2-0 (0-0) at SV Sandhausen and ended 2020 as the front runner. Even with a victory in Karlsruhe, Hamburger SV can no longer overtake the storks on Monday. Fullback Jannik Dehm (70th) with a wonderful free kick and Janni Serra with a hand penalty after video evidence (81st) ensured Kiel's fifth win in a row, and the North Germans have been unbeaten in eight games.

The downward slide of the SVS, however, continues under the new coach Michael Schiele. After its debut victory, it set three defeats in a row, which means that the people of Electoral Palatinate overwinter on relegation place 16. Diego Contento saw the red card before the penalty for handball (81st).

Holstein determined the encounter from the start, but developed little penetration. Fin Bartels (30th) shot the ball far over it alone in front of the goal, otherwise SVS was very good defensively before the break. This stayed that way even after the change, in one of the few offensive pinpricks captain Dennis Diekmeier hit the bar with his head (61st). Instead, Dehm and Serra struck on the opposite side.

FC St. Pauli – Fortuna Düsseldorf 0: 3 (0: 1)

Bundesliga relegated Fortuna Düsseldorf has continued its race to catch up towards the top of the table with its fourth win in a row. With a 3-0 (1-0) at FC St. Pauli, the fifth-placed Rhinelander drew on points with the relegation place. Hamburg, on the other hand, remained without a win for the tenth time in a row and cemented their penultimate place in the table. After a precise cross from Kristoffer Peterson, Matthias Zimmermann scored the opening goal in the tenth minute with a direct pick. Zimmermann also prepared the guests' second goal with a header from Rouwen Hennings (64.), Edgar Prib scored late (90. + 3).

The Hanseatic League disappointed across the board in the first half, but could have taken the lead after 45 seconds through Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, who hit the left outer post. It was only at the beginning of the second half that the North Germans found their way into the game until the second goal caused disillusionment.

1. FC Nürnberg – Erzgebirge Aue 1: 0 (1: 0)

1. FC Nürnberg said goodbye to the second division year with an important victory. The club defeated Erzgebirge Aue 1-0 (1-0) and moved into the middle of the table. After the short winter break, the race to catch up in the direction of the promotion ranks is to be continued. Like the FCN, Aue has 19 points from 13 games in the account. Robin Hack (36th) gave the Nürnbergers the third win from the last four games four days before Christmas Eve. Aue had recently defeated Karlsruher SC 4-1, but this time did not make anything out of the chances that were there. Aue started out stronger and had the first opportunities.

Christian Mathenia had to save in a one-on-one against Calogero Rizzuto (21st), already in the first minute he had parried Florian Krüger's long-range shot worth seeing. But the first Nuremberg chance was a hit: Hack shot in from eleven meters with the instep. Aue then rarely found a way to put the hosts under serious pressure, as hard as Pascal Testroet tried. On the other side, Hack failed to decide the game freely in front of Aue's goalkeeper Martin Männel (75th).