Kult & Punk. Lautern clinical, Pauli left needing a miracle

The boys watched on as the 'inevitable' looks more and more likely for St Pauli. One bit of good news though, the boys have agreed to cover St Pauli again next season, regardless of the division.

1. FC Kaiserslautern reached the magic 40-point mark on Friday evening following a professional 2-0 victory over FC St. Pauli, who are now six points adrift of safety with just two games to play.


Frustratingly for the visitors they bossed much of the possession throughout and even created some decent chances in either half, but their inability to finish them off and more tellingly a lack of concentration from set pieces cost them as headers from Christian Tiffert and Matthias Abel secured a vital three points for the Red Devils.

Slow start

Both sides required a little time to get into their groove at the Fritz Walter Stadion, with the first quarter of an hour punctuated by niggling fouls which prevented any kind of flow. Consequently chances remained absent and it became increasingly likely that the opener would fall as a result of a defensive blunder.

That moment appeared to be drawing nearer as Lautern defender Rodnei got the ball stuck under his feet with 27 minutes gone. The result was a fierce near-post strike on the run from Florian Lechner which Kevin Trapp did well to deny in the FCK goal, before Rodnei eventually cleared the danger but not without another nervy moment in his own box.

Tiffert ghosts in

Instead it was the home side who would profit from some lackadaisical defending from the visitors. Leon Jessen's overlapping sprint enabled him to deliver a peach of a cross from the left, Tiffert arriving behind the oblivious Ralph Gunesch in the centre to place a firm header into the bottom-left corner. Wounded, Pauli created a good chance to equalise when Charles Takyi fed Gerald Asamoah in the box, but the bullish striker was denied by another top save from Trapp.

The Kiezkicker maintained their energy in the early part of the second period, only to be stifled by a vigilant Lautern back line. The home side did manage to create one three-versus-two situation on the break, but Erwin Hoffer's pass for Srdjan Lakic forced the Croatian wide and the chance went begging.

Goodbye Pauli?

The optical advantage remained with St. Pauli as the game markedly fizzled out, but Holger Stanislawski's side were again punished for insufficient marking from set-pieces. Tiffert's expert deliveries are no longer a secret in the Bundesliga, yet Gunesch again failed to take heed as Abel thumped in a second header from a corner on 68 minutes, virtually killing the contest.

Shortly after Gunesch was withdrawn with his head in his hands, the visitors' evening was summed up when Fin Bartels released Max Kruse down the left, his cross found substitute Marius Ebbers, only for the veteran striker to fluff his lines in the centre. Cue thousands of white hankies in the Lautern crowd. They're now all but safe, St. Pauli require a miracle.

Lautern: Trapp - Petsos, Abel, Rodnei, Jessen - de Wit (Moravek 76'), Tiffert (Bugera 86'), Kirch, Hlousek - Hoffer (Nemec 70'), Lakic

St. Pauli: Pliquett - Bartels, Thorandt, Gunesch (Ebbers 72'), Lechner - Daube (Naki 72'), Lehmann - Eger, Takyi (Bruns 85'), Kruse - Asamoah

Goals: 1-0 Tiffert (28'), 2-0 Abel (68')