VfB Stuttgart moved out of the bottom three for the first time since mid-November as Sven Schipplock's late strike secured a vital 2-1 victory away to fellow strugglers FC St. Pauli.
It was a harsh turnout for the Kiezkicker, who had been the more adventurous for much of the game and deservedly went in front through Fabian Boll's opener. However, after Zdravko Kuzmanovic had equalised with a fierce strike soon afterwards, the home side were punished for failing to convert any of their chances inbetween when Schipplock fired in two minutes from the end
Pauli with more of the game
The Swabians' early strategy afforded the home side plenty of room on the freshly laid Millerntor pitch and they were almost left red faced with 14 minutes played when Charles Takyi was sent into the clear, only to be denied by the offside flag. Kuzmanovic hit a rasping free-kick narrowly wide at the other end moments later, but still it was no major surprise when St. Pauli took the lead shortly afterwards.
Boll became the first ever St. Pauli player to score against Stuttgart in the Bundesliga when he chested down Fin Bartels' chip into the box before finishing against the runs of the lunging Serdar Tasci and goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. The visitors soon drew level, however, as Kuzmanovic took aim from distance and fired an arrowed low shot through a crowd of players and into the bottom left corner.
Stuttgart invite pressure
Further chances for Tamas Hajnal, Christian Gentner and Georg Niedermeier all pulled St. Pauli keeper Thomas Kessler into action, but it was the hosts who went closest to finding the target before the break as Gerald Asamoah crashed a superb volley against the underside of the crossbar. The former Germany international was convinced he'd scored, but replays showed the officials had made the right assertion that the ball had not bounced over the line.
As in the first half it was again St. Pauli who began the brighter after the restart. Bartels fizzed a shot from the right channel which was too hot for VfB keeper Ulreich to handle on 49 minutes, and Stuttgart continued to invite pressure onto themselves with countless misplaced passes and aimless clearances.
Super sub Schipplock
Kuzmanovic threatened to provide a release for Bruno Labbadia's laborious side when he crashed another well-hit free-kick through the wall, but Kessler was again well placed to turn the ball around the post. At the other end the Kiezkicker continued to press, with VfB grateful for a superbly-timed Tasci tackle to stop Max Kruse in his tracks after the midfielder had been released by Dennis Daube.
There was always a danger that Pauli could be made to pay for their various missed opportunities, and the first cracks in an otherwise decent performance appeared when Timo Gebhart attempted to catch out Kessler with a quick free-kick. The St. Pauli keeper reacted well on that occasion to parry away, but he was helpless two minutes before the end as substitute Schipplock strode forward on the counter before striking a low shot into the left corner from just outside the box. It was a cruel blow to the home side who now find themselves in the relegation playoff place. Stuttgart meanwhile jump three places to 13th, giving their season a deceptively shinier gloss.
Line-ups:
Pauli: Kessler - Volz, Thorandt, Gunesch, Bruns (Sukuta-Pasu 73') - Boll, Daube - Kruse (Ebbers 81'), Takyi (Naki 73'), Bartels - Asamoah
Stuttgart: Ulreich - Träsch, Niedermeier, Tasci, Molinaro (Celozzi 52') - Gentner, Kuzmanovic - Harnik, Hajnal, Okazaki (Schipplock 83') - Pogrebnyak (Gebhart 63')
Goals: 1-0 Boll (19'), 1-1 Kuzmanovic (24'), 1-2 Schipplock (88')
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