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Marcel Hartel scored for league leaders St. Pauli to make it 2-0

Photo: Oliver Hardt / Getty Images

Two days after coach Fabian Hürzeler's contract extension, FC St. Pauli found its way back to success in the 2nd Bundesliga.

A week after the depressing 3-1 defeat at Schalke 04, the league leaders won 2-0 (2-0) against Hertha BSC in a one-sided game on matchday 25.

At the same time, Fürth missed important points in the promotion race in the 1:4 (0:1) home defeat against Elversberg, and in the basement duel with VfL Osnabrück, Kaiserslautern prevailed 3:2 (0:0) after a wild exchange of blows in the second half.

In the sold-out Millerntor Stadium, Manolis Saliakas (16th minute) and Marcel Hartel (44th) scored the goals before half-time on Sunday.

Nine game days before the end of the season, St. Pauli is ten points ahead of the relegation place with 51 points.

The league leaders dominated from the start.

After Hartel initially missed twice, Saliakas scored after a corner from 22 meters (16th).

For Hamburg, who continued to dominate the game, Hartel gave Hamburg a reassuring lead before the break with a shot from the edge of the penalty area (44th).

Five minutes after the break, Saliakas missed Hamburg's third goal with a shot that hit the crossbar.

Hertha had their first chance after an hour and now played more complacently, but could no longer endanger the home team's confident victory.

Being outnumbered, SpVgg Fürth suffered their next defeat and thus missed another chance to at least stake a claim in the race for third place.

The 1:4 (0:1) against the newly promoted team SV Elversberg was Fürth's fifth defeat in the last six games.

Paul Stock was the game decider for the guests as a three-time goal scorer (25th, 72nd, 82nd).

Dominik Martinovic increased the score to the final score (87th) following an assist from Stock.

It was a game of mistakes for a long time: the negative highlight was the 1-1 draw, in which Elversberg goalkeeper Nikolas Kristof shot at the Fürth-based Dennis Srbeny while trying to open the game (61').

Fürth's Robert Wagner saw yellow and red shortly after the break after a tactical foul (49th).

Coach Alexander Zorniger's team came back with ten men thanks to the goal gift from goalkeeper Kristof.

After an attack from Elversberg via Paul Wanner, which Stock finished with a follow-up shot to make it 2-1, nothing worked for Fürth.

Thanks to Ragnar Ache, 1. FC Kaiserslautern celebrated an important victory in the relegation battle.

Coach Friedhelm Funkel's team won 3-2 (0-0) against bottom-placed VfL Osnabrück after being behind twice.

Ache (67th, 90th + 3) was the match winner for the Palatinate team with his brace.

Substitute Ba-Muaka Simakala had previously equalized 2-2 for FCK (78th).

Erik Engelhardt (48th, 69th) scored the guests' two goals.

With 28 points, the Funkel team moved ahead of Hansa Rostock (25) and Eintracht Braunschweig (24) in the relegation battle.

The defeated Osnabrück is already ten points behind Kaiserslautern with 18 points.

cev/dpa