FC St. Pauli fights for its first win: Neitzel demands full performance!

FC St. Pauli fights for its first win: Neitzel demands full performance!

After an exciting 1-1 draw against VfB Lübeck, the FC St. Pauli Kiezkickers are challenged to finally get another win in the Regionalliga Nord. After the game, interim coach Karsten Neitzel clearly recognized that every player had to step on the gas in order to break the negative spiral. The club was able to look back on a positive moment: Youngster Melvin Witte celebrated a heroic performance on his debut in the men's division by saving a penalty. But despite this individual action, the entire team has to work on being aggressive and assertive.

In the first half against Lübeck, the team had great difficulty keeping up with the visitors' intensity and went into the locker room trailing 0-1. Neitzel rightly criticized his players' lack of aggressiveness and called for a clear increase in performance for the next game. The second round brought an improvement, the Kiezkickers found their way into the game better and won the duels, but the much-needed match luck was again missing in the final minutes, although they had a few chances to turn things around.

Outlook for the game against Oldenburg

The next opponent for the St. Paulians is VfB Oldenburg, who are currently in third place in the table with 44 points. Oldenburg has had an interesting run, but lost 2-0 to SV Meppen in a derby on November 28th, which not only boosted their own morale, but also the spectator numbers of around 10,000 - a new record in the Regionalliga Nord.

Neitzel expects a challenging duel against Oldenburg, which has established itself as a strong opponent in recent weeks. He is convinced that the performances in the first half, which the St. Paulians often showed, will also be decisive against Oldenburg. He appeals to the players to stay awake for the entire 90 minutes in order to actually take advantage of their chances of winning.

The context of the Regionalliga Nord

The Regionalliga Nord is one of the five regional leagues in Germany and is organized by the North German Football Association (NFV). This league is the fourth highest division and has an eventful history: there have been a number of changes and new editions since it was first held in 1963. There are currently 18 clubs playing for the top points, with the champions having been promoted directly to the 3rd league since the 2018/19 season.

Maturity and patience are probably the essential ingredients for the Kiezkickers to overcome the current challenges. With a good hand, things could soon look up again. The games against ultimately strong opponents like Oldenburg are the perfect opportunity to break the knot and climb up the table. We can only hope that the three points will go to FC St. Pauli in the next meeting.

There are more details about Melvin Witte's debut here Kicker, and to the Regionalliga Nord Wikipedia.