Reiner Maurer will enjoy a stay of execution in his post as 1860 Munich coach after a breakaway goal from captain Benny Lauth was enough to secure a dogged 1-0 victory at FSV Frankfurt.

Lauth, a former German international striker, slotted what was to prove the winning goal for the Lions, latching onto a deflected Moritz Stoppelkamp pass after 36 minutes.

Man of the match for the Lions, as so often this season, was the experienced Hungarian international Gabor Kiraly. The former Crystal Palace and Burnley goalkeeper pulled off a string of miraculous saves to preserve the Lions lead, including a remarkable one from point blank range which he parried to safety off his balding head!

The somewhat fortunate win in Frankfurt ends a winless six-week spell for the Lions which had seen them plummet down the 2nd division table and put the 52-year-old Maurer under increasing pressure.

Maurer was visibly relieved after the victory on the Main. ''We expected a difficult game with a certain brisance. We showed great battling qualities and performed well as a unit, even if everything hardly went to plan.''

1860 CEO Robert Schäfer, who cut his holiday in Vietnam short in order to catch the match in Frankfurt, was happy with the win. ''Today was the first step. Now we need to continue to work hard. We have no reason to rest on our laurels.''

The battling victory lifts the Lions into 7th place ahead of their attractive Friday evening fixture against struggling FC Cologne at 20.30 CET.

FSV Frankfurt: Klandt - Huber, Konrad, Heubach, Teixeira - Stark, Heitmeier (73' Roshi) - Michael Görlitz (74' Leckie), Bambara - Verhoek, Kapllani (89' Yun)   

TSV 1860 Munich: Kiraly - Wojtkowiak, Aygün, Vallori, Feick - Makos (70' Stahl), Bülow - Stoppelkamp, Bierofka (58' Maier), Halfar (89' Schindler) - Lauth   

Goals: 1-0 Lauth (36')
Referee: Markus Wingenbach
Attendance: 5, 188