Tabletop 1860 Munich rode a pair of early strikes to a 2-1 victory over St. Pauli, while Joe Enochs and Osnabrück scored an identical win against Erzgebirge Aue.

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REDS SUFFER BAYER HEADACHE
Looking to rebuild some momentum, Hannover succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of likely UEFA Cup qualifying rivals Bayer Leverkusen.

Steven Cherundolo put in a full and exhaustive shift at right back, while compatriot Sal Zizzo remained out on suspension and reserve team duties.

The hosts tried to catch their visitors off-guard early on, with Mike Hanke testing resolve through a 16th minute shot, before linking up with Czech veteran Jiri Stajner for a combination of attempts in the moments that followed.

When Bayer finally acclimatized, it was last year's league top-scorer Theofanis Gekas who pressured at the opposite end.

Neither side would break the deadlock before the halftime whistle, although the visitors seemed to grab the second half impetus right from the restart.

Just five minutes removed from the break, young German international Stephan Kießling pounced on the aftermath of a free kick to slot home the opener.

Hannover would again test their visitor's net, but without product, were made to pay in the 68th minute. Former HSV ace Sergei Barbarez laid the ball coolly off for Arturo Vidal, who would make no mistake one-on-one with keeper Robert Enke.

Two to the good, Bayer would sooth calls for a finisher through Gekas, with the summer buy from Bochum holding his composure to slot home a penalty after being fouled in the box.

Die Rotenis a Wednesday trip to Arminia Bielefeld.

Scoring
BL - Stefan Kießling 1 50'
BL - Arturo Vidal 1 (Sergei Barbarez) 68'
BL - Theo Gekas 3 (PK) 74'

Line-ups
H96 - Robert Enke; Steve Cherundolo, Thomas Kleine, Frank Fahrenhorst, Vinicius, Hanno Balitsch, Altin Lala (Vahid Hashemian 65'), Jan Rosenthal (Chavdar Yankov 81'), Jiri Stajner (Benjamin Lauth 46'), Szabolcs Huszti, Mike Hanke

BL - Rene Adler; Gonzalo Castro, Manuel Friedrich, Karim Haggui, Hans Sarpei, Arturo Vidal, Simon Rolfes, Sergei Barbarez, Stephan Kießling (Vratislav Gresko 79'), Tranquillo Barnetta (Lukas Sinkiewicz 87'), Theofanis Gekas (Michael Papadopulos 84')

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LIONS MAINTAIN TABLETOP EDGE
1860 struck twice in the first half to top St. Pauli at Allianz Arena on Friday evening and keep first place in the 2.Bundesliga on goal differential.

Gregg Berhalter and Josh Wolff each went the distance for the Lions, while Ian Joy watched the entirety from the visitors bench.

Berhalter nearly put the hosts ahead in the eighth minute after a free kick came back in to the are, but could not quite reach a loose ball at full stretch before Pauli keeper Patrik Borger could collect.

1860 wouldn't wait long for an opener, however, as Wolff ran down a Berkant Göktan lead pass into the right corner. The US international executed a pinpoint cutback from the touch line, and Lions top scorer Antonio Di Salvo had only to tap home from the doorstep.

Göktan would double the advantage near the half hour when played into the left channel by a Daniel Bierofka slip pass. The #10 shirt fired low, with the shot having enough steam on it to get through Borger and into the net.

Pauli cut the deficit five minutes later when Marvin Braun powered a 30-meter free kick into the far corner past 1860 netminder Michael Hofmann.

Hofmann did turn away a Timo Schultz effort before the break, and the Lions salted away the second half clock to remain in first place with a victory.

Scoring
1860 - Antonio Di Salvo 5 (Josh Wolff) 13'
1860 - Berkant Göktan 3 (Daniel Bierofka) 28'
STP - Marvin Braun 3 (Timo Schultz) 33'

Line-ups
1860 - Michael Hofmann; Markus Thorandt, Mate Ghvinianidze, Gregg Berhalter, Torben Hoffmann, Danny Schwarz (Sven Bender 44'), Lars Bender, Josh Wolff, Berkant Göktan (Timo Gebhardt 70'), Daniel Bierofka (José Holebas 83), Antonio Di Salvo

STP - Patrik Borger; Carsten Rothenbach, Fabio Morena (Florian Bruns 82'), Marcel Eger, Ralph Gunesch, Fabian Boll, Thomas Meggle, Björn Brunnemann (René Schnitzler 56'), Alexander Ludwig, Timo Schultz, Marvin Braun (Ahmet Kuru 79')

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VIOLETS DOUBLE UP AUE
VfL Osnabrück moved into mid-table with a 2-1 Friday win over guests Erzgebirge Aue.

Joe Enochs made his second appearance of the term, working the final 13 minutes in midfield.

The teams traded early chances with Violets striker Thomas Reichenberger ringing the post after eight minutes and Aue midfielder Nicolas Feldhahn saw a strong header denied 10 minutes later.

The hosts would break on top just past the half hour as former Aue man Matthias Heidrich netted a corner kick fumbled by visiting keeper Tomasz Bobel.

The home side had a trio of near misses before the break, with Rouwen Hennings, Alexander Nouri and Thomas Cichon all stopped by Bobel.

Hennings was turned away again near the hour, but Reichenberger finally added on in the 68th minute by burying a Bilal Aziz cross.

Adam Nemec cut the lead with a header 10 minutes from time, but Tino Berbig preserved the points with a late save on Jiří Kaufman.

Scoring
VFL - Matthias Heidrich 1 31'
VFL - Thomas Reichenberger 3 (Bilal Aziz) 68'
AUE - Adam Nemec 1 (Tomás Klinka) 80'

Line-ups
VFL - Tino Berbig; Assimou Touré, Marcel Schuon, Thomas Cichon, Andreas Schäfer, Matthias Heidrich, Alexander Nouri (Joe Enochs 77'), Paul Thomik, Rouwen Hennings (Gaetano Manno 82'), Bilal Aziz (Nico Frommer 70'), Thomas Reichenberger
 
AUE - Tomasz Bobel; Florian Heller, Tomasz Kos, Norman Loose, René Trehkopf, Nicolas Feldhahn (Fiete Sykora 66'), Marco Kurth (Tomás Klinka 46'), Tom Geißler, Skerdilad Curri (Jörg Emmerich 46'), Adam Nemec, Jiří Kaufman

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OFFENBACH KICK TWO PAST MAINZ
On a controversial Sunday afternoon, Kickers Offenbach took advantage of an extra man to post a 2-0 win over visiting Mainz.

At the back for Jürgen Klopp's Reds, American defender Neven Subotic pulled a full shift, receiving a hard lesson in the difficulties of maintaining a consistent run of form in Germany's second division.

In the outing at the Bierberer Berg, Klopp's men started the brighter, creating chances in the opening proceedings, including Ranisav Jovanovic's narrowly overdriven pelt from inside the box.

At the other end, Mainz keeper Simon Wetklo was forced into a 30th minute reaction save to deny a clear headed threat. Just 11 minutes thereafter, Wetklo would be left helpless to bail his side out as Kickers striker Suat Türker profited from a misread through-ball to blast his effort into the back of the net.

There was little to separate the two teams after the break, that is until the unceremonious sending off of Chadli Amri for abuse of the match officials.

Down to 10, Mainz had a moment of purgation that kicked the game out of reach, with Thorsten Judt sealing the scoreline at 2-0 for the hosts.

Next on the agenda for Kickers is a midweek trip to Carl Zeiss Jena, while Mainz host Josh Wolff's 1860 Munich, looking to tame the lions.

Scoring
OFF - Suat Türker 2 41'
OFF - Thorsten Judt 1 (Suat Türker) 73'

Line-ups
OFF - Daniel Endres; Christian Müller (Manuel Hornig 89'), Niko Bungert, Martin Hysky, Bastian Pinske, Oualid Mokhtari, Thomas Wörle, Stephan Sieger, Thorsten Judt (Sidney 85'), Suat Türker (Denis Epstein 74'), Dino Toppmöller

MNZ - Christian Wetklo; Tim Hoogland, Neven Subotic, Nikolce Noveski, Christian Demirtas, Miroslav Karhan (Francis Laurent 68'), Daniel Gunkel, Milorad Pekovic (Damir Vrancic 77'), Markus Feulner, Chadli Amri, Ranisav Jovanovic (Srdjan Baljak 54')

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ON THE SIDELINE
Heath Pearce rode the pine during Hansa Rostock's first win of the season, a 2-0 home win over Duisburg.

Kamani Hill missed out on Wolfsburg's 2-1 defeat of Energie Cottbus.