FC Schalke 04 kept their nerves in the second division promotion drama and made the return to the football upper house prematurely perfect. In the 3: 2 (0: 2) in the top game over FC St. Pauli, the table leaders even defied a 0: 2 deficit at the break and paved the way for a total of fourth promotion to the Bundesliga with a brilliant final sprint.
In front of 61,271 spectators in the sold-out Veltins Arena, Simon Terodde (47th/foulelfmeter/71st) and Rodrigo Zalazar (78th) scored the hard-fought victory on Saturday, which was euphorically cheered by their own fans.
On the other hand, second division autumn champions St. Pauli, despite the early double strike by Igor Matanivic (9th/17th), probably said goodbye to the promotion race after the sixth game in a row without a win. In the 81st minute, Pauli’s Marcel Beifus received a red card after a rude foul, and his team-mate Matanovic received a yellow card in injury time.
At three points behind the second HSV and the third Darmstadt and the significantly worse goal difference, there are only theoretical chances for FC St. Pauli.
HSV also maintains a chance of promotion
Schalke’s chance for early re-emergence came about through the mistake of second-placed SV Darmstadt 98 on Friday. The Hessian competitor lost 2-1 (0-2) to the Fortuna Dusseldorf team, who have been undefeated for twelve games.
Meanwhile, Hamburger SV won the spectacular Nord showdown against Hannover 96 and has at least temporarily been promoted. Hamburg defeated Lower Saxony 2-1 (2-1) on Saturday and is now second in the 2nd Bundesliga.
So the ascent race remains exciting. Hamburg now has 57 points, just like Darmstadt 98 in third place and SV Werder Bremen in fourth place. Bremen only plays at FC Erzgebirge Aue this Sunday and can thus preserve their chances of returning to the Bundesliga.
FC Hansa Rostock, who had already been rescued, played 0-0 at FC Ingolstadt, who were relegated. 1. FC Heidenheim won 2-0 (1-0) at SSV Jahn Regensburg. (dpa)