FC St. Pauli

The win over Wehen provided much-needed relief for everyone connected with the team, but especially the players. After several outings without a win, Jos Luhukay's side not only took three points from the game, but also enjoyed a healthy confidence boost, a view shared by Robin Himmelmann in an interview conducted with fcstpauli.tv ahead of the visit of Arminia Bielefeld. "After such a long time it was good to go off the field with the feeling we'd given our all again and claimed our reward," he said. "It was a relief, of course."

It came at exactly the right time, too. In Arminia Bielefeld, the best team of the year will leave their calling card at the Millerntor on Saturday. Led by the lethal strike partnership of Fabian Klos and Andreas Voglsammer, who have 32 goals and assists between them already this term, Uwe Neuhaus's side have powered their way up the table. "They're a good collective and so well organised in every department as well as carrying a huge threat up front," said Luhukay, summing up the opposition strengths.

Yet his team would do well to focus on their own strengths rather than spending too much time worrying about their opponents. "We need to bring a certain bite to the proceedings and win the 50-50 balls," said Christopher Buchtmann ahead of the clash with the league leaders. "If we do that, we'll automatically be in the game and then anything is possible at the Millerntor." The task for team and fans alike, then, is to mobilise the last reserves of energy and somehow leave nothing on the field. There'll be plenty of time to recover afterwards.

Photos: Witters