Rostock in great distress
St. Pauli is sneaking out of the crisis in a flattering way
April 21, 2024, 3:32 p.m
In the fight to stay in the 2nd Bundesliga, 1. FC Magdeburg celebrated an important victory in the explosive East duel at Hansa Rostock. Meanwhile, FC St. Pauli is back on the road to success after two defeats, even if the performance is not good.
Hannover 96 – FC St. Pauli 1:2 (1:1)
FC St. Pauli has regained its footing in the promotion race of the 2nd league and secured an important victory after two defeats in a row. On the 30th matchday, coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team won a somewhat flattering 2-1 (1-1) at Hannover 96 and thereby kept Fortuna Düsseldorf at bay – the former league leaders’ lead over the relegation zone is still five points. Oladapo Afolayan (41st) and Johannes Eggestein (65th) ended the Kiezkickers’ mini-crisis with their powerful headers. Lars Gindorf (45th) equalized for 96. “It was a huge challenge for us after the last two games,” said Eggestein on Sky: “We tried to make a cut in training and focus on the last games – we did that well today.”
Hannover got off to a better start and had some good opportunities, St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj had to save again and again. But then the guests struck out of nowhere: Afolayan headed in powerfully from a cross from Connor Metcalfe. The surprising lead hardly gave the guests any security, Gindorf was immediately there for 96 on his starting eleven debut. St. Pauli often appeared erratic and again made many unusual mistakes in the build-up to the game – but over time the Hamburg team still had chances. And the 96 defense left Eggestein alone to head the ball from a corner; Ron-Robert Zieler in the Lower Saxony goal had no chance from close range.
Hansa Rostock – 1. FC Magdeburg 0:2 (0:2)
Hansa Rostock suffered a bitter setback in the relegation battle. The Kogge lost in their own stadium to their direct rivals 1. FC Magdeburg after a very weak performance with 0:2 (0:2) and remain stuck in relegation place 16. The Magdeburg team, on the other hand, celebrated big points and moved ahead of the Rostock team by five points. Luca Schuler (18th) and Daniel Heber (40th) scored Magdeburg’s first win since the end of February. Hansa particularly invited the guests at 0-1 when John-Patrick Strauß played a fatal bad pass in his own half, which Schuler used to take the lead. For Rostock it was the third defeat in the last four games.
After Schuler’s opening goal, the FCM took control of the game and the hosts made many individual mistakes. Heber scored with a header from a free kick from Baris Atik. After the break, the guests managed their lead cleverly.
Karlsruher SC – Hertha BSC 3:2 (2:1)
Hertha BSC suffered another setback after four games without defeat. The Berliners lost their away game at Karlsruher SC 2:3 (1:2) and can probably finally plan for another season in the second division. Marco Thiede (16th), Igor Matanovic (45th) and Marvin Wanitzek (77th) scored for KSC, which, as fifth in the table and nine points behind the relegation zone, just like seventh-placed Hertha (eleven points behind), only had theoretical chances Promotion race has. Haris Tabakovic (23rd) equalized for Berlin with his 20th goal of the season, and Berlin’s top scorer also secured the final score (87th, hand penalty according to video evidence).
The normally atmospheric duel between the two friendly clubs was initially unusually quiet, at least in the stands. A Karlsruhe fan fell from the parapet and had to receive medical attention. The KSC later gave the all-clear, but with the exception of the three goals, the fans remained silent for long stretches of the entertaining first half. With the full support of the spectators, Wanitzek decided the game in favor of KSC after the break.