St. Pauli still has to worry
Holstein Kiel rises and makes Bundesliga history
May 11, 2024, 10:26 p.m
Holstein Kiel is promoted to the Bundesliga. The North Germans keep Fortuna Düsseldorf at bay and thus create a novelty in the history of the Bundesliga. The draw prevents Düsseldorf from double promotion, but FC St. Pauli can quickly follow suit.
Bundesliga ahoy! The far north is upside down – Holstein Kiel is the first club from Schleswig-Holstein to achieve promotion to the German elite football league. Coach Marcel Rapp’s team completed the coup with a 1:1 (1:0) in the top game against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Afterwards, all the dams on the fjord burst.
The Rhinelanders, on the other hand, will most likely have to fight for a first division ticket in the relegation, while FC St. Pauli has the second direct promotion place in their own hands. If the Kiezkickers get a point on Sunday (1.30 p.m./Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) against the already relegated VfL Osnabrück, they too will be through.
Benedikt Pichler (2nd) for Holstein and Christos Tzolis (70th/foul penalty according to video evidence) for Fortuna scored the goals in a spectacular top game in which the promotion race reached its climax. With their proven team spirit, the Kiel team ultimately managed to ram the flag of the northernmost federal state into the first league map: it took 61 years, and now a team from Schleswig-Holstein will play in the Bundesliga for the first time in the 2024/25 season.
The starting position before kick-off was extremely exciting: After Hamburger SV’s decisive mistake on Friday evening (0-1) in Paderborn, Fortuna no longer had to fear an attack from the fourth-placed team and was able to courageously attack Kiel once again. In view of the historic opportunity, the Rapp team had to not let their heads buzz too much.
In the Holstein Stadium, which was sold out with 15,034 spectators, things got down to business without any testing phase. Immediately after the early lead, Fortuna demanded a penalty after an alleged handball by Kiel defender Patrick Erras just before the goal line. According to the video images, referee Sven Jablonski decided against it (4th) – controversial. “Otherwise the ball will go into the goal. That can only be a penalty. It doesn’t work that way,” said Fortuna board member Klaus Allofs later on Sky.
The Kiel team then survived the visitors’ pressure phase and tried to control the game until the half-time whistle. In the second round, Fortuna took increasing risks – a real promotion thriller developed.