Gladbach get important 2-0 win over St Pauli in Bundesliga dogfight

Borussia Mönchengladbach got a breather in the fight against relegation from the Bundesliga with a 2-0 victory against fellow strugglers St Pauli on Friday.

Kevin Stöger opened the scoring in the 37th minute with a superb free-kick into the top left corner, his first goal of the season in his 200th career top flight game.

Substitute Franck Honorat scored the second in the 62nd into the far left corner and missed a brace by firing against the right post on the counter in the 79th.

St Pauli had their biggest chance in the 27th when Joel Fujita's effort from point blank range was saved by Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas.

The visitors from Hamburg remain third bottom in the relegation play-off spot as a run of three games without defeat ended.

Gladbach climbed into 12th with a second straight home victory. They are four points ahead of Pauli and eight ahead of Wolfsburg in the first direct drop spot.

The matchday continues on the weekend, with leaders Bayern Munich at Bayer Leverkusen and second placed Borussia Dortmund hosting Augsburg. In the lowlands, Werder Bremen host Mainz and SV Hamburg play Cologne.