- 21.02.10
- First Team
Monday, 8:15 p.m. – Crunch Encounter at the Betzenberg
On Monday evening, February 22, 2010, the two most constant teams of the league will face each other at the Betzenberg. 40,000 fans are expected to come to Fritz Walter Stadium to see the crunch encounter between the league leaders 1. FC Kaiserslautern and FC St. Pauli.
FCK - St. Pauli
Also the Red Devils look forward to facing their rivals. With his team on an impressive run, head coach Marco Kurz said that the players had earned an awesome gate like the one expected on Monday. Yet neither Kurz nor team captain Martin Amedick wants to make a big fuss about the Red Devils’ current position in the standings since “it is nothing more than a snap-shot”. And the winner will not be awarded more than three points on Monday.
Except from the long-term injured players, all FCK players are available for selection ahead of the clash against FC St. Pauli. Even if the exhausting encounter with MSV Duisburg has left the usual marks of minor injuries, everyone is likely to be match fit again on Monday thanks to the great work of FCK’s medical staff. Kurz’s side has completely come to terms with the game in Duisburg in any respect. Albeit the match resulted in a late draw, the Red Devils’ strong performance boosted their self-confidence ahead of the crunch encounter with their closest rivals. 
However, with regard to the dominant and compelling displays of Kurz’s men, there is no reason for a lack of confidence at all. After some tiny initial difficulties, the Red Devils are back on track displaying their dominant way of controlling the action on the field of play which we all know from the first leg of the season and which has earned them three points on the road to St. Pauli in September last year.
The guests will come to the Palatinate brimming with confidence as they are the most successful team of the second leg together with FC Augsburg. Following four straight victories, they drew 0-0 with FSV Frankfurt last weekend. Moreover, the two winter signings Bastian Oczipka and Richard Sukuta-Pasu (both joined St. Pauli on loan from Bayer Leverkusen) are a real asset to the club and add further quality to the squad.
Nevertheless, St. Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski tries to stay on an even keel as he describes the games against Kaiserslautern and Bielefeld as ‘bonus weeks’. There is no doubt that this is pure understatement. With 48 goals scored, particularly Pauli’s attacking force is one of the league’s best attacking units as no other team managed to hit the target more often so far. First and foremost, FCK’s defense has to keep an eye on Marius Ebbers who has already scored twelve goals in the current campaign.
However, the Red Devils are up for the fight as their defense is the best of the entire league. Following the rough times against Augsburg and Fürth, the flat back four around team captain Martin Amedick were a bulwark again lately. There is no reason to fear the rivals - on the contrary: The Betzenberg will tremble on Monday evening and the loud support of their fans will hopefully give the Red Devils the critical edge in their clash against St. Pauli.
