Status: 30.08.2024 22:23
Second game, second defeat: FC St. Pauli also lost at Union Berlin on Friday evening and is still waiting for its first Bundesliga point and its first Bundesliga goal.
The false start is perfect for the team of new coach Alexander Blessin, who lost their opening match at Millerntor 2-0 against 1. FC Heidenheim. “I don’t think we played a bad game,” said St. Pauli defender Hauke Wahl on the ARD microphone: “The difference to the second division is that small details are decisive.”
But even though the season is still young, the promoted team is already facing fundamental questions: Is the quality of the offense sufficient for the Bundesliga, especially after the departure of Marcel Hartel?
AUDIO: St. Pauli’s Hauke Wahl: “We didn’t play a bad game” (2 min)
And is Blessin’s 3-5-2 system without wingers the right one for this team when two of last season’s best players (Oladapo Afolayan and Elias Saad) are just spectators on the bench most of the time?
Another goal conceded after a corner
At the moment, St. Pauli is robbing itself of its own strengths and showing weaknesses that were hardly present in the promotion season. For example, a vulnerability to set pieces. Against Heidenheim, the second goal came from a corner and on Friday evening, Union was on the road to victory with a similar one: Benedict Hollerbach scored from 17 meters (34th minute) after a header that was cleared too short, but was lucky that Karol Mets deflected the ball unstoppably.
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Before that, the teams had played a – to put it kindly – hard-fought match in Wuhlheide. St. Pauli showed the better approach to play, without posing any danger. See: lack of wingers. The Berliners offered even less, but after Union’s lucky 1:0 lead, the Hamburg team’s energy escaped just as the ball had just lost its breath.
Union keeper Rönnow unemployed
Jordan Siebatcheu had the chance to make it 2-0 after a mistake by Hauke Wahl, but was somewhat surprised by the chance that arose (36′). St. Pauli were spared the apparent knockout, but not the loss of defensive leader Eric Smith, who had to be substituted due to injury five minutes before half-time.
After a good hour, Saad and Afolayan finally came on the pitch – the Hamburg team desperately needed fresh blood. Union was relaxed and controlled the proceedings.
The double substitution livened up the Hamburg team’s game, but Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow remained an interested spectator without having to show his skills. Significantly, substitute defender Adam Dzwigala had the best chance for St. Pauli up to that point in the 77th minute after a corner.
There was only one more, seconds before the end of injury time: Afolayan tested Rönnow with a low shot. But that was not enough for the promoted team, who would rather not look at the Bundesliga table during the upcoming international break.
2nd matchday, 30.08.2024 20:30
Union Berlin
1
FC St. Pauli
0
Tore:
Union Berlin:
Rønnow – Doekhi, Vogt, Leite – Haberer, Tousart (67. Schäfer), Khedira, Rothe (89. Querfeld) – Vertessen (67. Benes), Hollerbach (78. Skarke) – Siebatcheu (89. Jeong)
FC St. Pauli:
Vasilj – Wahl, Smith (40. Dzwigala), Mets – Treu, R. Wagner (61. Saad), Irvine, Ritzka (83. Boukhalfa) – J. Eggestein (83. Albers), Guilavogui (61. Afolayan), Metcalfe
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Hamburg Journal | 31.08.2024 | 19:30
