FC St. Pauli

Jos Luhukay had announced his intention to ring the changes going into the game in view of the busy schedule. The Dutchman left his defence intact, however, meaning Sebastian Ohlsson began again in the holding position. In attack, Luhukay made four changes. Marvin Knoll and Rico Benatelli replaced Waldemar Sobota and youngster Christian Viet in central midfield, while Luis Coordes and Viktor Gyökeres came in for Henk Veerman and the injured Dimitrios Diamantakos up front. Hannover boss Kenan Kocak also made four changes, with Hendrik Weydandt partnering the in-form former St. Pauli marksman Marvin Ducksch up top in place of John Guidetti.

The home side, free of any promotion or relegation distractions, had been beaten by Darmstadt at the weekend and their desire to make amends was evident from the word go. Marcel Franke and Ducksch had both squandered chances early on by the time Weydandt took advantage of a slip by Leo Østigård to square the ball for Ducksch to slide past Himmelmann six minutes in.

Luhukay's charges sought to shrug off the early setback but Hannover maintained the pressure and doubled their advantage when Weydandt headed home a pinpoint Julian Korb cross at the near post in the 17^th minute. The Boys in Brown popped up in front of the Hannover goal for the first time on 24 minutes, Coordes driving forward to tee up Finn Ole Becker, but his shot flew well off target. That was the sum total of their attacking endeavours, however. Hannover, the league's most prolific side in recent weeks, displayed more resolve going forward and fashioned the next chance for Ducksch, whose low drive was defused by Himmelmann. Not until the closing stages of the half did the pace of the game drop, allowing the Boys in Brown to increase their share of the possession, though that was partly due to the home side taking their foot off the gas somewhat. When the referee blew for half-time, Hannover were well worth their two-goal lead.

Early setback: Marvin Ducksch opens the scoring for Hannover in the sixth minute.

The Boys in Brown emerged unchanged for the second half, while Genki Haraguchi replaced the ailing Linton Maina for the home side. Hannover began with rather less ambition than in the first half, which meant that more of the action unfolded in their half of the field. But apart from a long-range effort from Marvin Knoll on 54, nothing came of our territorial advantage. Jos Luhukay reacted by throwing on Johannes Flum for Ohlsson and then Maximilian Franzke and Veerman for Finn Ole Becker and Coordes. Any hopes of a comeback were dashed almost immediately, however, when Haraguchi pulled the trigger from the edge of the box and found the top corner thanks to a slight deflection that left Himmelmann no chance.

With that, the game was all but over and it drifted into the closing stages with little action of note. Hannover did no more than necessary, while St. Pauli lacked the punch and the ideas to mount a serious threat. Instead, the home side capitalised on a break involving John Guidetti, Haraguchi and finally Cedric Teuchert to add a fourth ten minutes from time. The Boys in Brown will now have to draw a line under this heavy defeat and focus on securing the points they need to guarantee their second-division status at home to Regensburg on Sunday.

Hannover 96

Zieler - Horn (Ostrzolek 85'), Hübers, Franke, Korb - Anton - Prib (Muslija 55'), Maina (Haraguchi 46'), Kaiser - Ducksch (Guidetti 70'), Weydandt (Teuchert 70')

Head coach: Kenan Kocak

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann - Penney, Buballa, Østigård (Avevor 73'), Zander - Ohlsson (Flum 54') - Knoll, Benatelli - Becker (Franzke 60') - Coordes (Veerman 60'), Gyökeres (Tashchy 73')

Head coach: Jos Luhukay

Goals: 1-0 Ducksch (6'), 2-0 Weydandt (17'), 3-0 Haraguchi (61'), 4-0 Teuchert (80')

Yellow cards: Muslija – Zander

Referee: Alexander Sather

Photos: Witters