FC St. Pauli beat Karlsruher SC 2-0 on matchday seven to climb to seventh place in the 2. Bundesliga. Abdoulie Ceesay and Lars Ritzka scored the goals in front of 29,546 fans at the Millerntor-Stadion.

How the match unfolded

St. Pauli took control from the start. The opening goal came after a move involving Youssoupha Niang, with Connor Metcalfe's pass finding Abdoulie Ceesay. The season's top scorer, now with three goals, finished coolly from close range in the 32nd minute. Lars Ritzka, starting in place of the suspended Tomoya Andō, doubled the lead after the break. The defender headed home an Eric Smith free-kick from point-blank range in the 51st minute. Karlsruhe, who had scored only six goals all season before this match, offered little response. A potential consolation from Lilian Egloff in the 83rd minute was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.

Head coach Marcel Rapp was pleased with his side's defensive discipline. "Smith stayed between the other centre-backs for most of the first half, both with and without the ball," he said. His counterpart Max Senft is still searching for answers, with his team now winless in six matches. "Karlsruher SC, according to coach Maximilian Senft, had one reason due to the recent good performances of defender Trémoulet...", he said of his selection.

Table and next up

The third win of the campaign moves St. Pauli up to seventh with ten points. Marcel Rapp's side is now unbeaten in five matches. The next challenge is an away trip to face Hannover 96 on Saturday at 20:30. Our squad page and all upcoming fixtures are available. For Karlsruher SC, a home game against SV Darmstadt 98 follows on Sunday.

First reported at Wochenblatt Reporter

FC St. Pauli goes into the away match at Hannover 96 on a run of five games without defeat. The team of coach Marcel Rapp has achieved two wins and three draws in the last five matches. The club confirmed the run on Friday. The next opponent, Hannover 96, however, is coming off a 0-3 defeat to Magdeburg. With ten goals scored and eight conceded this season, St. Pauli has a positive goal difference.