BOYS IN BROWN EYEING TURNAROUND AT REGENSBURG
Friday, 20. April 2018, 16:57 Uhr
With four games of the season remaining, FC St. Pauli go up against SSV Jahn Regensburg on Saturday (1300 CET). The home side have had a great season on their return to the second division and are already guaranteed safety, while the Boys in Brown are out to end a run of six games without a win and secure three vital points in the battle against relegation.
"A satnav would say 'you have reached your destination'," said Regensburg head coach Achim Beierlorzer after the key 2-1 win at Fürth last week. That success lifted his side to 44 points and second division safety, given the seven-point gap to the drop zone and the fact that several of the teams below them still have to play each other.
It is a different story for the Boys in Brown, who were seven points clear of the relegation places after the 3-2 home win over Holstein Kiel in late February. Markus Kauczinski's side have not won since that day, and because rival teams such as Bochum (16 points), Aue (11) and Fürth (10) have been busy collecting points in the last six matches, they find themselves in the relegation play-off place for the first time this season.
The time has come to turn things round, then, starting with a result at Regensburg. That will be easier said than done, however, as Jahn have been the best and most prolific side in the league since the winter break. Most of their points have come at home, where they have won nine out of 15 so far. No team has won more this season. That said, Regensburg have lost all of the other six, and no team has lost more at home. There are therefore no in-betweens at the Continental Arena, which has seen the second-highest number of goals scored (51). Only Heidenheim's home games have produced more (55).
For the Boys in Brown to come away from Regensburg with a result, they have two jobs to do – keep the third-best attack in the league quiet and mount a bigger threat going forward than in recent games. Question marks remain over the fitness of Lasse Sobiech, Johannes Flum and Aziz Bouhaddouz, though Jeremy Dudziak is back from suspension. If Kauczinski's side were to grab a vital away win, their satnav would probably say: "You are heading in the right direction but have yet to reach your destination. Please keep picking up points!"