FC St. Pauli

New boss Markus Kauczinski made three changes to the side that lost 5-0 at Arminia Bielefeld. Captain Bernd Nehrig returned from a one-match ban to replace the injured Christopher Buchtmann, while Aziz Bouhaddouz and Sami Allagui came in for Mats Møller Dæhli (groin) and Jan-Marc Schneider. MSV coach Ilja Gruev had to make do without six-goal Moritz Stoppelkamp (ankle), Ahmet Engin stepping in. Duisburg came to the Millerntor looking to build on a run of 14 points from seven games; for the Boys in Brown the task was to bring a winless run of seven matches to an end.

Kauczinski's team made a committed start, showing good body language and refusing to give up any ball. Against a solid Duisburg rearguard that had conceded just five times in the last seven games, however, goalscoring opportunities remained a rarity. For their part, the visitors sat back waiting for a chance to break, though space for counterthrusts remained a premium. In the 14^th minute the Boys in Brown had a narrow escape when centre-back Dustin Bomheuer headed a corner against the post and Stanislav Iljutcenko was denied by Johannes Flum on the rebound.

That was the only situation of note in an opening phase in which both teams focused on keeping things tight at the back. After 27 minutes Sahin had a go from distance following a quick counterattack, but his effort lacked power and posed no problem for MSV keeper Mark Flekken. Almost immediately Duisburg forced another corner, and when the Boys in Brown failed to clear their lines Boris Tashchy tried his luck with the outside of his foot, but the ball cleared the crossbar.

Two minutes later referee Christian Dietz pointed the spot for a shove by Bouhaddouz on Gerrit Nauber. Kevin Wolze stepped up and converted the spot-kick with aplomb to give his side the lead. A bitter setback for Kauczinski's side, who fashioned a great chance to equalise five minutes before the interval when Bouhaddouz launched a counterattack via Sahin and Allagui. The striker got the ball back inside the MSV box, but instead of going for goal he elected to square it for Nehrig, only for a Duisburg defender to intercept the pass.

Lukas Fröde slides in to stop Sami Allagui.

The Boys in Brown emerged unchanged for the second half; MSV made one change, Thomas Blomeyer coming on for Nauber. Just 30 seconds in Bouhaddouz headed the ball down for Waldemar Sobota, who pulled the trigger from just inside the box. Bomheuer was able to get in the way of the shot, and though the ball bounced up and hit him on the hand, there could be no question of a penalty.

Then, after 52 minutes, Allagui bombed his way down the middle and into the box, only to be denied at the last second. Duisburg struggled to get out of their own half as Kauczinski's men piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser. And in the 57^th minute they finally got their reward when Luca Zander crossed from the right for Allagui to head the ball back across goal. Thomas Blomeyer was unable to get a decisive touch on it, allowing Sobota to smash a shot into the roof of the net from close range to make it 1-1.

It didn't end there. Just two minutes later Dietz pointed to the spot again when Allagui was brought down by Flekken after the MSV keeper had parried an effort from Sobota. Lasse Sobiech took the penalty and made it 2-1 with a shot into the top-right corner.

The game became more and more hectic and after Sobota had clashed with Hajri the referee showed Bouhaddouz a red card for what appeared to be a disagreement with Lukas Fröde rather than a foul. That meant Kauczinski's side had to survive another 20 minutes with ten men. Soon after the dismissal they had Robin Himmelmann to thank for keeping it at 2-1 with a magnificent save from Hajri's volley.

Kauczinski then made his first substitution, introducing the more defensively-minded Jan-Philipp Kalla for Sahin. Gruev responded by bringing on Kingsley Onuegbu for Tashchy – a straight swap in attack. MSV began to dominate the possession and in the 81^st minute they found an equaliser. A cross from the right found Ahmet Engin at the back post, and he knocked the ball back across goal for Iljutcenko to bundle the ball over the line from close range. It was to prove the last of the action and the game finished level at 2-2.

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann - Zander, Sobiech, Avevor, Buballa - Nehrig, Flum - Allagui (Schneider 87'), Sahin (Kalla 76'), Sobota - Bouhaddouz

Head coach: Markus Kauczinski

MSV Duisburg

Flekken - Hajri, Bomheuer, Nauber (Blomeyer 46'), Wolze - Oliveira Souza, Fröde, Schnellhardt, Engin - Tashchy (Onuegbu 78'), Iljutcenko (Albutat 86')

Head coach: Ilja Gruev

Goals: 0-1 Wolze (pen. 32'), 1-1 Sobota (57'), 2-1 Sobiech (pen. 63'), 2-2 Iljutcenko (81')

Yellow cards: Bouhaddouz, Sahin, Allagui, Sobota – Nauber, Hajri, Bomheuer

Red card: Bouhaddouz (68')

Referee: Christian Dietz (Munich)

Attendance: 29,546 (sold out)

Photos: Witters