FC St. Pauli

The meeting at the Betzenberg had the character of a cup final, as whichever team won would move above the 40-point mark and be almost certain to stay up. Ewald Lienen made one change to the team that beat Heidenheim 3-0 last time out, Daniel Buballa coming in to replace Jeremy Dudziak, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery during the week. FCK coach Norbert Meier named an unchanged side after the 3-1 win at Karlsruhe.

With neither side shirking a tackle, it was a high-intensity encounter from the outset. Chances remained a rarity in the opening stages, however. Little wonder, given the fact that Kaiserslautern had conceded a measly three goals in their last 14 home games and St. Pauli just nine in their last 17 outings. Marc Hornschuh did have the ball in the net after eight minutes from a Waldemar Sobota free-kick, but the goal was ruled out for the narrowest of offsides.

The Boys in Brown controlled the proceedings to such an extent that the Red Devils struggled to get anywhere near the penalty area, but at the other end they themselves were unable to find a way through Lautern's tightly packed back five. A set piece was needed, but Christopher Buchtmann's curling effort from the right in the 23^rd minute sailed just over the angle.

Five minutes later the Boys in Brown were awarded another free-kick on the right. Sobota pinged a low delivery into the goal area and found his target in Aziz Bouhaddouz, but the prolific marksman got underneath the ball and it flew over. Lienen's side continued to go about their business impressively, keeping their composure in the face of intense gegenpressing when going forward and flying into the tackles to snuff out any attacks by the home side and ensure goalkeeper Philipp Heerwagen had precious little to do.

Sobota was enjoying himself and seven minutes before the break the Pole tried his luck from distance after cutting inside, his right-foot shot fizzing just past the right-hand post. Though it remained goalless at the interval, that won't have troubled the Boys in Brown, who had gone in at half-time with the score at 0-0 in each of their last four matches and won all four.

The second period began with a bang and Gaus could have opened the scoring for Kaiserslautern in the opening minute, unleashing a volley from close range that Heerwagen did very well to keep out. Three minutes the ball was in the net, albeit at the other end, and this time it counted! Aziz Bouhaddouz outjumped Phillipp Mwene to meet Hornschuh's ball in and his powerful header flew past Julian Pollersbeck to make it 1-0.

The home side hit back with two chances of their own in the space of a minute. First Heerwagen denied Jacques Zoua from close range following a corner, and then Bernd Nehrig blocked a shot from Görtler with a last-ditch lunge.

Anyone who thought the Boys in Brown would now slow things down so they could take a breather was soon to be proven wrong. Buchtmann swung a corner into the danger area from the left for Lasse Sobiech to meet with a header. It looked for all the world as if it was going in, but Mwene was perfectly placed to head the ball off the line. Soon after that Buchtmann dispatched another dead ball into the box and Bouhaddouz steered a header just wide from a narrow angle.

Nine minutes later Buchtmann launched an attack with a high-energy run and bundles of determination, played a one-two with Bouhaddouz and burst into the penalty area. With just Pollersbeck to beat, the midfielder kept his nerve and doubled the advantage with a clinical finish – GET IN!

The home side pushed forward in search of a goal in the ensuing period but had no joy against a solid St. Pauli defence that gave nothing away. After a ten-minute lull in the proceedings Lienen made a second substitution, introducing a defender in Philipp Ziereis for midfielder Cenk Sahin. Nevertheless, Lautern came within a whisker halving the deficit six minutes from time when Tim Heubach hit the outside of the right-hand post with a long-range effort. And in the final minute of regulation time Gaus beat Heerwagen with a header into the left-hand corner from Mwene's cross to make it 2-1. Lautern threw everyone forward in the three minutes of time added on but the Boys in Brown held on to seal the win.

Three more crucial points in the quest to stay up, then. Yet even though Lienen's side have climbed to seventh place overnight – at the beginning of April they were 17^th – mathematically they are still not safe. If Kickers Würzburg fail to win at Fortuna Düsseldorf on Saturday and Arminia Bielefeld don't take three points at VL Bochum on Sunday, however, the Boys in Brown will be able to raise a glass in celebration having secured their second division status.

FC Kaiserslautern

Pollersbeck - Vucur, Ewerton, Heubach - Koch - Mwene, Moritz (Görtler 40'), Halfar, Gaus - Zoua (Osawe 72'), Przybylko (Glatzel 78')

Head coach: Norbert Meier

FC St. Pauli

Heerwagen - Hornschuh, Sobiech, Gonther, Buballa - Buchtmann (Kalla 86'), Nehrig - Sobota, Møller Dæhli (Thy 46'), Sahin (Ziereis 78') - Bouhaddouz

Head coach: Ewald Lienen

Goals: 0-1 Bouhaddouz (49'), 0-2 Buchtmann (69'), 1-2 Gaus (90')

Yellow cards: Gaus, Heubach, Görtler, Ewerton

Referee: Felix Zwayer

Attendance: 35,781

Photo: Witters