Bundesliga 2, Matchday 18: St. Pauli snatch top spot, Hamburg overcome Schalke
The Bundesliga 2 campaign is back under way, with St. Pauli snatching top spot from Holstein Kiel and Hamburg keeping pace with victory over Schalke.
Press the play buttons below to watch highlights from all of Matchday 18's action.
Karlsruhe 2-1 Osnabrück
Goals: 1-0 Kobald (4’), 1-1 Gnaase (24’), 2-1 Wanitzek (55’)
Karlsruhe began the second half of the Bundesliga 2 season with a win thanks to an early goal in each half, the result pulling them further clear of the relegation zone. Christoph Kobald opened the scoring in the fourth minute, poking in from close range after the visitors failed to properly clear a corner. However, Osnabrück – bottom of the table with just nine points at kick-off – equalised a short while later when Dave Gnaase smashed in an eye-catching shot from range. Karlsruhe had the final say though, Marvin Wanitzek stroking in from 10 yards to give the hosts all three points.
Holstein Kiel 1-2 Eintracht Braunschweig
Goals: 1-0 Skrzybski (11’), 1-1 Kaufmann (43’), 1-2 Philippe (57’)
Eintracht Braunschweig stunned Bundesliga 2 leaders Kiel with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory on Friday, the result marking their third consecutive victory and adding a further boost to their survival hopes. The writing appeared to be on the wall early on for the away side though when Steven Skrzybski scored a stunning opener from near the halfway line, only for Braunschweig to equalise on the stroke of half-time. The visitors created a number of chances in the second half but only scored from one of them, Rayan Philippe bundling the ball over the line from close range to inflict a fifth defeat of the season on promotion hopefuls Kiel.
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St. Pauli 2-0 Kaiserslautern
Goals: 1-0 Saad (34'), 2-0 Hartel (64')
St. Pauli snatched top spot in Bundesliga 2, taking full advantage of Kiel's slip-up to Braunschweig with a 2-0 win over Kaiserslautern at the Millerntor. Marcel Hartel set up Elias Saad for the opener, the recent Tunisia call-up finishing past Julian Krahl just past the half-hour. Hartel then got his own name on the scoresheet - for the ninth time this season - when he followed up on Johannes Eggestein's parried shot. It was Pauli's first win in four, and 15th-placed Kaiserlautern's fourth defeat on the bounce.
Nuremberg 3-0 Hansa Rostock
Goals: 1-0 Uzun (15'), 2-0 Uzun (36'), 3-0 Castrop (51')
Nuremberg kept within touching distance of the promotion places with a 3-0 win over Hansa Rostock, who remain deep in relegation trouble with only Osnabrück below them. Can Uzun scored a first-half brace, the 18-year-old Turkey youth international finding Nils Körber's corner early on before taking advantage of a defensive mis-hap to double Der Club's lead 10 minutes before the break. Jens Castrop completed the scoring soon after the restart, directing Florian Flick's shot into the goal.
Elversberg 2-2 Hannover
Goals: 0-1 Tresoldi (8'), 1-1 Rochelt (57'), 2-1 Jäkel (60'), 2-2 Tresoldi (69')
There was no separating last season's 3. Liga winners Elversberg from traditional giants Hannover at the former's Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde, the sides playing out a 2-2 draw that leaves them locked on 25 points in mid-table. Nicolò Tresoldi found himself unmarked to open the scoring for the visitors with the first attack of the game, but Elversberg replied through former Bayern Munich reserve player Jannik Rochelt and the RB Leipzig-owned Frederik Jäkel. Tresoldi had the final say, though, the Germany U21 striker finishing sharply after a Håvard Nielsen through-ball.
Schalke 0-2 Hamburg
Goals: 0-1 Pherai (22'), 0-2 Bénes (35')
Third-placed Hamburg moved to within a point of the automatic promotion places with victory away to Schalke. László Bénes had already tested Ralf Fährmann, when Immanuel Pherai headed in Ignace Van Der Brempt's cross to give HSV the lead. Thomas Ouwejan rattled the woodwork as Schalke went in search of the equaliser, only to find themselves two down before half-time after Bénes turned in from Jean-Luc Dompé. Tomáš Kalas made a goal-line clearance to deny Bénes his brace in an entertaining second half that also saw Ouwejan and Schalke substitute Bryan Lasme hit the goal frame. The defeat leaves the Royal Blues just three points above the bottom three.
Hertha Berlin 2-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Goals: 1-0 Tabaković (30'), 1-1 Jóhannesson (44'), 2-1 Scherhant (45'+1), 2-2 Tzolis (pen, 50')
Hertha paid tribute to their late president Kay Bernstein, who passed away earlier in the week, with an entertaining 2-2 draw at home to Düsseldorf. The Berliners took the lead when Haris Tabaković finished off a Derry Scherhant-led counter, celebrating with a T-shirt bearing the face of the former president. Fortuna levelled with a counter of their own on the stroke of half-time through Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson. However, the Old Lady went into the break ahead when Scherhant intercepted a poor clearance from goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier and struck. The visitors struck back again early in the second half when Marc-Oliver Kempf fouled Jona Niemiec in the box, with Christos Tzolis converting the penalty. The Greek forward had a chance to win it with another spot-kick only five minutes later put missed the target as Düsseldorf slipped to fifth, while Hertha dropped to eighth.
Paderborn 0-1 Greuther Fürth
Goals: 0-1 Sieb (33')
Fürth climbed to fourth in the standings, only two points behind HSV in third, thanks to a narrow win in Paderborn. The visitors made much the better start, but neither Branimir Hrgota nor Julian Green could make chances count. They finally struck after the half-hour mark when ex-Bayern youth player Armindo Sieb was played through to finish, but not after a number of top stops from goalkeeper Jonas Urbig. The Cologne goalkeeper was again the hero with more saves in the second half, including from a Adriano Grimaldi penalty as Greuther held on against a Paderborn onslaught. The hosts are now seven points adrift of the top three.
Magdeburg 1-0 Wehen Wiesbaden
Goals: 1-0 Ito (80')
Red card: Ćatić (84')
Magdeburg leapfrogged promoted Wiesbaden into 12th place thanks to a late winner from substitute Tatsuya Ito after being found in the six-yard box by Silas Gnaka. Wehen finished with 10 men when Amar Ćatić was sent off for a second yellow with a few minutes remaining as the hosts claimed a deserved victory.
Watch: Top 5 goals from Matchday 18
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