Irvine goal sends St Pauli back to the top
Australia star Jackson Irvine netted the vital winner for St Pauli as it returned to the top of the 2. Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over lowly Hansa Rostock.
After a goalless first half, Irvine headed home from a Marcel Hartel corner shortly after the restart to put Pauli in the lead, and it stayed that way until the final whistle.
The stakes could hardly have been higher for either side, with Hansa battling to survive at the other end of the table, and indeed it was the visitors who began the brighter, with aggression and high pressing causing Pauli problems initially.
But the Boys in Brown were much improved after the break and grabbed all three points after irvine's winner, and a 3-1 defeat to second-placed Holstein Kiel at the hands of Kaiserslautern only added the joy for the Hamburg side.
"We didn't have any answers in the first half when it was a similar game to Hannover last week," Irvine said after the game.
"It was tough and we have [goalkeeper] Niko [Vasilj] to thank again, but credit to the team for showing more courage after that and finding our rhythm again.
"We played very well in the second half. As captain I have to lead from the front and I try to start doing that in training. You can sense in the district and from the people how important football and the next game is for them. As players we recognise that, and we know what it means to the fans. The support was brilliant."
With three games left to play in the league, Pauli now has promotion to the Bundesliga in its own hands and will finish at least third from here. But the prize of a place in Germany's top flight will certainly be the aim.
