FC St. Pauli

The Boys in Brown went into the proverbial six-pointer determined to clinch a win that would lift them out of the drop zone. Head coach Ewald Lienen made two chances to the side that won 2-0 at Nürnberg last time out, Philipp Ziereis coming in at right-back and Johannes Flum replacing the suspended Bernd Nehrig in holding midfield. Marc Hornschuh started on the bench.

In a cautious beginning both sides were guilty of making simple mistakes. Würzburg created a couple of half chances five minutes in, but Marco Königs was unable to get on the end of David Pisot's cross and Tobias Schröck's shot was blocked. Rather than resort to long balls forward, Lienen's side attempted to play their way into the danger area but they were repeatedly frustrated by a very disciplined Würzburg rearguard.

Not until the latter stages of the half did the game pick up pace. After 33 minutes Mats Møller Dæhli spread an excellent ball wide to Cenk Sahin on the wing. Under pressure from a defender, Sahin managed to get a shot off but his effort was blocked by the onrushing Jörg Siebenhandl. At the other end Königs capitalised on a slip by captain Sören Gonther to bear down on Philipp Heerwagen's goal, but he hesitated in pulling the trigger and his effort smashed into the side netting. Lienen's side restored their narrow advantage in terms of attempts on goal just before the break when Lasse Sobiech forced Siebenhandl into the save with a header from a free-kick.

Goalless at the break: after edging the first half the Boys in Brown came out after the interval determined to win it.

The Boys in Brown almost made a perfect start to the second half when Waldemar Sobota floated the ball to the back post and Gonther headed just wide. Two minutes later Aziz Bouhaddouz had an opportunity to add to his tally but was unable to connect properly with the ball and Siebenhandl was able to claim it.

In their quest to penetrate the danger area Lienen's side had to reel off much of their repertoire against a solid Würzburg defence that was keeping things very tight. With an hour gone Jeremy Dudziak tried his luck from distance, but his shot flew wide of the goal. The Boys in Brown went closer three minutes later when Møller Dæhli headed a delivery from Waldemar Sobota into the side netting. The visitors, for their part, were reduced to the odd foray upfield. On 69 minutes substitute Valdet Rama tested Heerwagen with a shot from just outside the area – but the keeper claimed it without any problem.

In the closing stages Lienen gave clear notice of his attacking intent with the introduction of another striker in Lennart Thy for Johannes Flum. Bernd Hollerbach's side, however, seemed content to settle for a point. Thy had a great opportunity to open the scoring on 85 but the substitute was denied by Siebenhandl. There was nothing the Würzburg custodian could do two minutes later, however, when Christopher Buchtmann drilled home a left-foot shot to set the pulses of the home fans racing. The Boys in Brown safely negotiated three minutes of time added on and then it was over. What a relief!

FC St. Pauli

Heerwagen – Ziereis (Buballa 66'), Sobiech, Gonther, Dudziak - Buchtmann, Flum (Thy 75') - Sahin (Miyaichi 80'), Møller Dæhli, Sobota - Bouhaddouz

Head coach: Ewald Lienen

Kickers Würzburg

Siebenhandl - Pisot, Neumann, Schoppenhauer, Junior Diaz - Fröde, Taffertshofer – Daghfous, Schröck (Rama 57'), Benatelli (Ernst 63' (Soriano 88')) - Königs

Head coach: Bernd Hollerbach

Goals: 1-0 Buchtmann (87')

Yellow cards: Bouhaddouz, Møller Dæhli, Sahin - Taffertshofer, Schröck, Königs, Fröde

Referee: Sven Jablonski

Attendance: 29,546 (sold out)

Photos: Witters