FC St. Pauli

The Boys in Brown went into this relegation scrap on the back of a massive confidence boost from the 4-3 win at Heidenheim last time out. Head coach Timo Schultz made just one change for the visit of Sandhausen, who sat just one point and one place below his side going into the game, Sebastian Ohlsson replacing Luca Zander. SVS coach Michael Schiele, in contrast, made four adjustments to the team that beat Nürnberg 2-0 at home last week.

On a heavy pitch, the Boys in Brown registered the first attempt of the evening two minutes in. Rodrigo Zalazar's free-kick took a slight deflection and looped into the arms of Stefanos Kapino in the Sandhausen goal. The home side must have thought they had scored a few minutes later when Zalazar picked out Guido Burgstaller with a wonderful pass into the box. The striker knocked the ball past the keeper and pulled the trigger from a tight angle. Kapino got a decisive hand on it, however, allowing Alexander Rossipal to head the ball off the line.

Almost immediately, Daniel Keita-Ruel hoofed a shot into the North Stand from the edge of the box before Kevin Behrens headed a Philipp Klingmann cross over the top. Klingmann then went for goal himself from just outside the area, but James Lawrence was able to get a block in. With 18 minutes gone, the Boys in Brown were awarded a free-kick 25 metres out. Up stepped Leart Paqarada to take it, but his attempt cleared the crossbar.

"Awkward opponents" was how Paqarada had described Sandhausen in the run-up, and so it proved. The Boys in Brown struggled to find the gaps in a stubborn SVS rearguard, resulting in a hard-fought encounter with few clear-cut opportunities for either team. Some sought-after space eventually opened up for Zalazar, but Kapino hung on to his long-range effort at the second attempt. Next, Paqarada delivered the ball into the middle from the left-hand side following a Zalazar corner. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh chested it down and tried an acrobatic overhead kick, only for the ball to take a deflection and thus prove no problem for Kapino.

Sebastian Ohlsson then abandoned his defensive duties temporarily, latching onto a clearance to drive forward and pull the trigger from 25 metres – the ball flew wide of the right-hand upright. The best chance of the evening to that point arrived just before the break when Zalazar set up Marmoush with a textbook pass to leave him with just Kapino to beat, but the in-form Sandhausen keeper blocked his close-range effort to send the two sides in scoreless at the half.

Omar Marmoush was denied the opening goal just before the interval.

Both teams emerged unchanged for the second period. The Boys in Brown continued to hog the possession but made little headway against a solid Sandhausen backline. Then, Zalazar weaved his way past Alexander Rossipal and Denis Linsmayer on the right-hand side of the box and knocked the ball across the face of the goal. Unfortunately, the Uruguayan found no takers. A string of corners ensued, but the visitors, the best side in the league in terms of aerial duels, remained unperturbed.

The game descended into a scrappy affair with little penalty-box action to speak of – until the 67^th minute, that is. A distance effort from Marmoush took a deflection and ended up with Finn Ole Becker on the left. The midfielder slipped the ball past the onrushing Kapino to Kyereh in the middle, leaving him the simple task of tapping into the empty net to give his side the lead.

And there was more! Ohlsson burst down the right and cut the ball back from the byeline for Kyereh to lash a first-time shot towards goal where Burgstaller, standing a couple of metres in front of Kapino, diverted the ball into the net to make it 2-0 just four minutes after the opener.

Sandhausen brushed themselves down and pulled one back within minutes. Dennis Diekmeier dispatched a cross to the back post for Rossipal to meet first-time. Kevin Behrens stuck a foot out, and the deficit was halved. That made for a nervy final quarter of an hour, but the Boys in Brown protected their lead intelligently to secure a vital three points in the fight against relegation.

FC St. Pauli

Stojanović - Ohlsson (Zander 78'), Ziereis, Lawrence, Paqarada - Smith (Smith 78'), Becker (Reginiussen 84'), Zalazar, Kyereh - Marmoush (Dittgen 84'), Burgstaller (Makienok 89')

Head coach: Timo Schultz

SV Sandhausen

Kapino - Röseler, Kister, Zhirov - Klingmann (Nartey 61'), Diekmeier, Rossipal (Contento 78'), Linsmayer (Esswein 61'), Bachmann - Keita-Ruel (Schmidt 78'), Behrens

Head coach: Michael Schiele

Goals: 1-0 Kyereh (67'), 2-0 Burgstaller (71'), 2-1 Behrens (74')

Yellow cards: Kyereh – Röseler, Nartey

Referee: Patrick Alt (Illingen)

Photos: Witters