FC St. Pauli

The St. Pauli boss named the same ten outfield players who started against Kaiserslautern a week earlier for the visit to Fürth. The only change was Philipp Heerwagen in goal for the injured Robin Himmelmann.

There was little for the stand-in keeper to do in the opening stages. St. Pauli made a focused start and comfortably kept the home side at a distance. The first moment of danger arrived in the ninth minute when right-back Khaled Narey found Mathis Bolly in the penalty box, but his finish flew just wide of the goal.

Neither side offered much in attack until after the midway point, with any promising moves breaking down in the final third as both defences remained vigilant. It was Richard Neudecker who threatened next in the 28^th minute, working his way down the left to the bye line, only to see goalkeeper Balazs Megyeri pounce on his cross. The game suddenly picked up pace as both sides looked to get forward. Just a minute later Cenk Sahin found Aziz Bouhaddouz in space with a delightful lofted pass, but the striker's chest-down proved too heavy.

Fürth's best chance came after a foul by Bernd Nehrig on Sercan Sararer in a dangerous position. Thankfully, Benedikt Kirsch smacked the free-kick into the wall. The driving force for St. Pauli was increasingly Sahin, who produced a series of passes to set up his team-mates. Under pressure, however, neither Bouhaddouz nor Neudecker could capitalise on his deliveries into the penalty area. The two sides were thus locked goalless at half-time, a scoreline that the home side will no doubt have been happier with than the Boys in Brown.

Noisily backed by almost 2,000 travelling fans, Lienen's side continued unchanged after the break. They carved out a decent chance almost immediately when Vegar Eggen Hedenstad tested Megyeri with a direct free-kick from the left-hand side. Another free-kick seven minutes later eventually found its way to Sören Gonther. The St. Pauli skipper wasted no time getting a shot off but unfortunately it flew just over. At the other end Narey was presented with an opportunity to shoot on 57, but his effort went well wide of the target.

Just as it looked as if Fürth were beginning to seize the initiative, the Boys in Brown opened the scoring with 64 minutes gone. Waldemar Sobota skipped past two defenders in the box and cut the ball back to Bouhaddouz in the middle. The Moroccan's first effort was blocked, but he left Megyeri no chance with his second attempt.

The Shamrocks upped the pressure on going behind but never really troubled a St. Pauli defence ably marshalled by Lasse Sobiech and Sören Gonther. Ewald Lienen responded by introducing fresh legs in Ryo Miyaichi for Richard Neudecker on 67 and Fafa Picault for goalscorer Bouhaddouz on 77.

With Fürth pushing forward, the Boys in Brown were repeatedly offered space in which to break but a lack of precision meant they were unable to find a second goal to settle the nerves. The best chance to do so fell to Picault, who directed a header wide of the goal when left unmarked eight minutes from time. And so the travelling fans were left biting their nails until the first minute of stoppage time, when Sahin capped a superb performance with a strike worthy of winning the Goal of the Month competition. When a Fürth free-kick was cleared, he sprinted almost the length of the field with the ball at his feet before finishing with a chip over the keeper's head. Minutes later the game ended to scenes of unbridled jubilation in the brown-and-white camp.

SpVgg Greuther Fürth

Megyeri – Gugganig, Narey, Franke, Heidinger – Bolly, Djokovic, Hofmann, Sararer, Kirsch (Dursun 57') – Berisha (Tripic 67')

Head coach: Janos Radoki

FC St. Pauli

Heerwagen – Hedenstad, Sobiech, Gonther, Keller – Nehrig – Sahin, Choi (Avevor 80'), Neudecker (Miyaichi 67'), Sobota – Bouhaddouz (Picault 77')

Head coach: Ewald Lienen

Goals: 0-1 Bouhaddouz (64'), 0-2 Sahin (90')

Yellow cards: Hofmann, Heidinger - Neudecker, Sahin

Referee: Frank Willenborg

Attendance: 10,015

Photo: Witters