Bundesliga
FC St. Pauli completes promotion with victory over Osnabrück
FC St. Pauli is now first class
© Axel Heimken / DPA
FC St. Pauli has made it into the top German football league. The Hamburg club won 3-1 against Osnabrück and secured their second ticket to Kiel.
FC St. Pauli is the second promoted team in the Bundesliga after Holstein Kiel. Hamburg won 3-1 (1-0) against bottom-placed VfL Osnabrück on Sunday and can therefore no longer be pushed out of one of the top two places on the last second division matchday. 29,546 spectators in the Millerntor Stadium celebrated the sixth Bundesliga promotion in the club’s history and the return to the top German league after 13 years.
St. Pauli’s promotion hero was the Englishman Oladapo Afolayan. The 26-year-old gave coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team the lead in the seventh minute. Shortly after the break he scored a second goal against Osnabrück, who were dangerous at times and did not play like a relegated team (58′). Marcel Hartel also scored after Afolayan’s cross (68th). Lars Kehl converted a penalty kick for the guests in stoppage time (90+1).
St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel: Two northern clubs are promoted to the Bundesliga
The 31-year-old Hürzeler took over his team in December 2022 as the youngest coach in German professional football in 15th place in the table and led them steadily upwards over the months. Even a weak phase in the sport in recent weeks and discussions about his contract extension at the beginning of the year could no longer jeopardize promotion.
Northern rival Holstein Kiel had already made it into the Bundesliga the night before with a 1-1 (1-0) draw against Fortuna Düsseldorf. After FC St. Pauli’s result, it is also certain that third-place Düsseldorf will play for promotion in two relegation games on May 23rd and 27th.
Note: This article is continually updated.