2nd league
Schalke like a substitute: St. Pauli has no chance
Schalke prevailed at home against leaders St. Pauli. photo
© Bernd Thissen/dpa
We haven’t seen FC Schalke this strong in a long time. The crisis team fought with a lot of passion to defeat the sovereign second division leaders. St. Pauli has no chance.
Second division leaders FC St. Pauli suffered a setback at the crisis team FC Schalke 04 with their second defeat of the season. Coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team deservedly lost 1:3 (0:1) to the much-improved Bundesliga relegated side.
In front of 61,497 spectators in the sold-out Schalke Arena, Yusuf Kabadayi (44th minute/73rd) and Kenan Karaman (90th + 2) scored twice for the Revierclub, which was able to move away from the relegation zone. Hamburg, who had had no chance for a long time, only shortened the lead thanks to a deflected shot from Elias Saad (89′).
The league leader, who had been so confident up until now, was clearly inferior, was hardly a threat and only barely avoided an even greater defeat. In addition, Eric Smith was injured early on and had to be substituted in the twelfth minute.
Schalke’s third home win in a row
The gap to a non-promotion rank could now be reduced to seven points for Hamburg at the weekend. The previous last and first defeat of the season St. Pauli conceded in Magdeburg three weeks ago.
The third home win in a row was extremely important for Schalke. After the 3-0 defeat after an indisputable performance in Magdeburg, the mood in Gelsenkirchen had changed. On Monday, the team expressed its opinion internally in an intensive discussion. Coach Karel Geraerts, who came under pressure, reacted with five starting eleven changes and was rewarded: his team had not appeared as committed and superior as against St. Pauli for a long time.