Dortmund sprint 13 points clear at the top

Berlin: Borussia Dortmund charged 13 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over St Pauli on Saturday, their first victory in three games.

Paraguay international Lucas Barrios scored his 10th league goal of the season late in the first half and an own goal from Ralph Gunesch just after the restart gave the hosts, who drew their two previous matches, a points total of 55."This was a well-deserved win because our discussions about converting our chances paid off," said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp. "The team remained concentrated and focused on their aim." Hanover 96 beat Kaiserslautern 3-0 thanks to a double from Jan Schlaudraff to move up to third on 41 points, one behind Bayer Leverkusen who host lowly VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. Paolo Guerrero also struck twice as Hamburg SV crushed Werder Bremen 4-0 in the northern derby to leave their rivals without a win in five games and only a point off the relegation playoff spot. The win gave Hamburg, who left unhappy striker Ruud van Nistelrooy on the bench, some respite following their midweek defeat by bitter city rivals St Pauli and increased the pressure on Werder coach Thomas Schaaf who has been at the club for 12 years. VfL Wolfsburg slumped to their second straight defeat under new coach Pierre Littbarski, letting slip a 1-0 lead to lose 2-1 at Freiburg. Champions Bayern Munich, on 39 points, can climb into second place with a victory at Mainz 05 later on Saturday.Dortmund made an explosive start, with Kevin Grosskreutz denied by keeper Thomas Kessler and Nuri Sahi firing just wide from 16 metres in the opening minutes. St Pauli, who won three games in a row going into the match, were helpless as Dortmund launched wave after wave of attacks. Kessler made several more fine saves but had no chance when Barrios turned on the style six minutes before the break. He picked up a deep cross from Sahin, turned in the box, laid the ball on to his left foot and fired in. Dortmund struck again in the 49th minute when the ball bounced in off Gunesch`s leg. Bureau Report