Bremen set record against St. Pauli

Seventy-eight miles (126 km) separate Bremen and Hamburg, yet matches between Werder and the port city's two biggest clubs Hamburg and St. Pauli are hotly-contested affairs. Saturday evening's encounter at the Millerntor was no different, and it was Bremen who left with the spoils.

The opening stages were quiet, but Die Werderaner were the more clinical, scoring with their first shot on target midway through the first half when Derrick Köhn fired home. Then, after the interval, Marvin Ducksch netted his fourth goal of the season to secure the points.

Not only did the victory extend Bremen's unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions and move them to within a point of the European qualification spots, but they also heaped more head-to-head Bundesliga misery on their hosts.

Watch: St. Pauli 0-2 Werder Bremen - highlights 

This was Bremen's eighth consecutive victory against Pauli in the top flight, a run which started in 1996. During that streak, Die Kiezkicker have managed just six goals, another example of Bremen's dominance.

Pauli did register a win in the third round of the DFB Cup in 2006, but that was their only triumph in the past 23 meetings. It is fair to say the four-time Bundesliga champions are the cult-club's bogey team.

All in all, this was an impressive display from Bremen in cold conditions, especially from a defensive point of view. "We were ice cold today," said goalkeeper Michael Zetterer. "A cool away game for all Bremen players. If we defend like that, we'll win most of the games because we simply have the quality up front to score goals."

This was also their fifth away win of the campaign, already more than last term's tally. If they can keep up this vein of form, a place in Europe next term is not beyond the realms of possibility.