FC St. Pauli

Timo Schultz made just one change to the side that faced Hertha BSC in last week's dress rehearsal. The St. Pauli boss had already announced at the pre-match news conference that Nikola Vasilj would be his first-choice keeper in the league, and the 25-year-old began in goal in place of Dennis Smarsch. The Boys in Brown looked focused from the outset and with just 60 seconds on the clock Simon Makienok headed wide from a corner.

The next effort on 11 minutes was to prove more accurate. And how! Leart Paqarada was allowed to progress unchecked towards the Kiel box and, when urged by the crowd to shoot, he unleashed a terrific left-foot piledriver into the top corner to open the scoring. Both sides looked to get forward in the ensuing period, but chances remained few and far between. Not until three minutes before the interval did an opening appear for Guido Burgstaller, who eased past Hauke Wahl with a neat stepover, only to shoot inches wide of the far post with his slightly weaker left foot.

The action became more resolute after the break. Steven Skrzybski picked out the unmarked Fabian Reese two minutes in, but the forward was unable to get enough power on the shot, and then Philipp Ziereis deflected a shot by the advancing Fiete Arp out for a corner. The resulting set piece yielded an opportunity for the Boys in Brown to hit Kiel on the counter, but Burgstaller overdid the footwork a little and the ball was stolen off his toe by a defender as he shaped to shoot. Two minutes later, Finn Ole Becker fashioned the space he needed to get a shot off. The ball skewed across the area to the back post, where Daniel-Kofi Kyereh was left with the simple task of sliding home.

The goal seemed to knock the visitors completely off their stride and the Schultz XI had several opportunities to extend their lead. A goal was long overdue and it came in the 84^th minute through a sensational horizontal bicycle kick from Kyereh that even put Paqarada's effort in the shade, but the video assistant referee had other ideas and the strike was ruled out for a narrow offside. A third goal did come eventually, however, Burgstaller claiming his reward from a headed flick-on by Maximilian Dittgen to put the result beyond all doubt in time added on. 

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj – Zander, Ziereis, Medić, Paqarada – Smith (Aremu 48') – Becker (Buchtmann 86'), Benatelli – Kyereh (Daschner 86') – Makienok (Dittgen 70'), Burgstaller

Head coach: Timo Schultz

Holstein Kiel

Gelios – Neumann (Korb 75'), Wahl, Komenda (Lorenz 46'), Kirkeskov – Erras – Bartels, Skrzybski (Porath 75'), Mühling, Reese (Mees 62') – Arp (Fridjonsson 62')

Head coach: Ole Werner

Goals: 1-0 Paqarada (11'), 2-0 Kyereh (62'), 3-0 Burgstaller (90'+1)

Yellow cards: Mühling

Referee: Arne Aarnink

Attendance: 8,900

Photos: FC St. Pauli