The 1. FC Kaiserslautern found its shooting boots early and held on late against St. Pauli on Sunday afternoon to record the team’s first league victory of the 2026-2027 2. Bundesliga campaign, 2-1.

The Red Devils entered the match at Millerntor Stadium without having scored a goal in the first two league matches, but they also hadn’t allowed a goal so far.

St. Pauli hadn’t won a match since February when the Kiezkicker were a member of Germany’s top division.

Two of those three runs came to an end in Hamburg.

In the 29th minute, FCK midfielder Semih Sahin launched the ball toward the goal from 22 yards away, and Yardimci stuck his foot out to control it near the penalty spot. The 24-year-old forward then slotted it between the legs of a St. Pauli defender from 8 yards out.

The Red Devils came out of the break firing, doubling their lead not even 30 seconds into the second half.

After the visitors forced a turnover inside their offensive third, Thierry Fidjeu-Taemeta dribbled through a few St. Pauli defenders along the right wing and cut inside. From a tight angle, the 19-year-old winger beat goalkeeper Ben Voll to the near post to make it 2-0.

St. Pauli didn’t go away quietly, however.

In the 56th minute, forward Abdoulie Ceesay became the first player to score on FCK goalkeeper Julian Krahl this season. Teammate Taichi Hara beat both a defender and Krahl to a deflected through ball from offensive midfielder Branimir Hrgota, and the 27-year-old Japanese striker centered a pass inside the 6-yard box.

Substituted just a minute earlier, Ceesay poked the ball into the open net.

That marked the first goal the Red Devils had allowed in more than 9 hours of competitive play, stretching back to last season.

From that point, it was mostly one-way traffic, as the hosts sought an equalizer. Four Red Devils — Jacob Rasmussen, DFB Pokal hero Ibrahim Kanaté, Fabian Kunze and FCK debutant Mario Sauer — picked up yellow cards within 20 minutes after the goal.

And Krahl managed to block a knuckling free kick from Hrgota with his thigh in the 77th minute, which was the Kiezkicker’s last good chance of the match.

With the win, FCK leapfrogs into sixth place with five points. St. Pauli, meanwhile, drops into 16th place on two points.

The Red Devils return to action Saturday when they host SV Darmstadt 98. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CET.