FC St. Pauli

The mood in the two camps was almost identical after the weekend’s games. Below‑par performances from both teams saw them begin the year with a defeat, Timo Schultz’s side losing by the odd goal in three at Greuther Fürth, Würzburg 4-2 at home to Karlsruhe. "You can’t win games if you make such mistakes and win so few tackles,” said Kickers coach Bernhard Trares afterwards. “We conceded far too easily. It was our worst performance of my time here.”

It was also the fifth defeat in succession and the 11th in 13 games for the promoted side, whose only success this season came in early November when Trares celebrated his first game in charge with a 2-1 victory over Hannover 96. Bottom of the table with just four points, Würzburg face a tough battle to avoid going straight back down to the third tier, a fate they suffered in summer 2017 at the end of their sole second-division campaign to date.

Yet Timo Schultz’s charges are also in desperate need of points after failing in their bid to reboot their season at Fürth against a home team who performed much better on the day and were well worth their win. Hardly anything came off for the Boys in Brown, who conceded far too easily and lacked ideas in midfield and punch in attack. The 2-1 scoreline may have looked close on paper, but it was one they could live with in the end despite having their hopes of a point raised late on when Leon Flach pulled a goal back out of the blue.

"We’ve drawn a line under the Fürth game now and are focusing entirely on Würzburg,” said Schultz at the pre-match news conference. “We’ll approach the game with a different mood, power and energy." After making a hash of the restart at Fürth, the turnaround is now to be ushered in at the second attempt at Würzburg. For that, the Boys in Brown are targeting an all-round improvement in every area of the pitch.

Photos: Witters/Eibner