FC St. Pauli bounced back from their weekend defeat with another gritty 1-0 victory as they ended Holstein Kiel’s impressive recent run.

Kiel came into the game on the top of the 2. Bundesliga, however Johannes Flum struck just before the break.

Kiel will have been disappointed with their response in a second half that will have at least left St. Pauli coach Olaf Janßen very happy, whilst the hosts finished with ten men after Patrick Herrmann saw two yellow cards.

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Flum pounces before half time

Kiel came into the game as the unlikely league leaders after a run of four wins in a row, which continued with a 3-0 win over Erzgebirge Aue at the weekend. St. Pauli on the other hand have had a mixed start and lost 4-0 to FC Ingolstadt 04 on Saturday. They brought in the fit-again Lasse Sobiech, Daniel Buballa and Richard Neudecker to their time, whilst Kiel swapped in David Kinsombi for Dominic Peitz.

This was the first competitive meeting between these northern rivals in move then ten years, but the excitement got a bit too much for some Kiel fans, who invaded the pitch before kick-off in an attempt to steal a St. Pauli banner - thwarted by, of all people, Sami Allagui. That all resulted in to ten-minute delay to the start of the game.

Once the game did get underway the hosts didn’t take too long to show the flare that’s made them a joy to watch so far this season. Kingsley Schindler was well off target with the first notable effort on goal, but after a free-kick was initially cleared, it was crossed back in by Sebastian Heidinger, with Kinsombi’s header saved by Robin Himmelmann, before Dominick Drexler put the follow-up into the side netting.

The visitors weren’t showing too many signs of a hangover from the Ingolstadt defeat though. Although Kiel were looking good going forward it was them collecting the chances to go ahead. Aziz Bouhaddouz saw a shot deflect off the head of Waldemar Sobota, Flum put a header over and Jeremy Dudziak forced a save from Kenneth Kronholm.

Just before half-time, they took the lead. Neudecker got the better of a defender, passing across to Flum, who beat Kronholm with a right-footed shot. They lead shouldn’t have survived long though, as Steven Lewerenz got in the way of Marvin Ducksch, on loan from St. Pauli, as he tried to connect with a Schindler cross. The effort went over the bar.

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Kiel fall flat in reponse

If anyone thought that that boded well for the second half, they were misguided. Neither side was able to muster up much in an attacking sense after the break. Bouhaddouz though did have appeals for a penalty turned down after he was pulled back in the box.

There were also a few stoppages for injuries too, breaking up the pace of the game. St. Pauli lost Dudziak to injury after a couple of tussles with Herrmann, and it would have been a worrying site to see him hobble his way around the pitch after he was judge unable to continue.

With Kiel needing a goal though, the game recovered some intensity with 15 minutes left on the clock. Alexander Mühling put the ball into the St. Pauli box, perhaps it was even a shot, however substitute Aaron Seydel connected, with his shot going wide of Himmelmann’s goal. They threatened in the box a few moments later, with three potential penalty calls as St. Pauli battled to get the ball clear, but none were of interest to the referee.

Kiel’s cause was hindered though when Herrmann was given his marching orders after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Maurice Litka, having been booked earlier in the half for a foul on Dudziak. There were a couple of scores for St. Pauli just before the end, especially when Kinsombi went just wide with a spectacular volley, but they hung on for the 1-0 win. SV Sandhausen, following their win against 1. FC Union Berlin, claim top spot from the Storks.

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