FC St. Pauli

Head coach Olaf Janssen made one change to the side that won 1-0 at VfL Bochum last time out, Jeremy Dudziak coming in for yesterday's birthday boy, Jan-Philipp Kalla. But before the action got under way, the Boys in Brown officially said farewell to two players who left the club during the summer. Dennis Rosin joined Werder Bremen's second string in the third division, while former captain Sören Gonther featured in the starting lineup for the visitors.

Thanks for five wonderful years at the Millerntor! Sören Gonther left the Boys in Brown for tonight's opponents Dynamo Dresden during the summer.

The game was an extremely hard-fought affair from the off. So hard-fought that FCSP captain Bernd Nehrig picked up a booking in the very first minute after a challenge on Dresden's Erich Berko. The visitors quickly showed their intent to take all three points from the Millerntor, hogging the possession in their search for a goal, a tactic that offered the Boys in Brown opportunities to break. But with the two sides largely cancelling each other out, a 7^th minute Marco Hartmann corner for Dynamo posed the only threat of note in the early stages.

Wheenver the Boys in Brown did push forward, the final ball was often lacking. That may have been the reason why Christopher Buchtmann, on collecting a pass from Bernd Nehrig in the 22^nd minute, took it upon himself to glide past a defender and dispatch a curling shot into the far corner of the net with his weaker right foot. The joy over the goal was to be short-lived, however, as Rico Benatelli burst into the box at the other end just seven minutes later and squared the ball for Hartmann to level with a crisp shot from ten metres. Waldemar Sobota and Lucas Röser both had chances to give their respective teams the lead before half-time, but at the break it stood 1-1, a scoreline that was a fair reflection of the proceedings to that point.

In the second half Uwe Neuhaus's side adopted a more cautious approach, seemingly content to sit back and wait for their own chance to counter. Yet it was they who threatened first after 57 minutes. When Philipp Heise nutmegged Dudziak on the wing Berko picked out goalscorer Hartmann, who directed his shot wide under heavy pressure.

The Boys in Brown edged the possession as they sought to find a way through the visitors' rearguard, and some early pressing produced another big chance on the hour. After a quickly taken free-kick Benatelli lost the ball to Mats Møller Dæhli, who promptly set off towards goal. On reaching the penalty area the Norwegian pulled the trigger, only for Marvin Schwäbe to turn the shot round the post for a corner.

That effort ushered in the best phase of the game for FCSP, in which Dudziak repeatedly pushed forward on the right flank. On one such occasion in the 69^th minute, the 21-year-old cut inside and slipped the ball to Møller Dæhli, who forced Schwäbe into another fine save. And there was more to come. Dudziak forced his way into the box yet again and spotted Buchtmann, who wasted no time rifling a shot past Schwäbe, who probably could have done better.

It was all St. Pauli now, and less than two minutes later Buchtmann sent Sami Allagui clear. The striker lobbed the ball over the keeper into the net, but his effort was ruled out for the narrowest of offsides. Unfortunately, Dresden were not long in finding an answer. Heise was offered too much space near the corner of the box and smacked a shot on goal. Himmelmann could only parry, and Röser said thank you very much as he knocked in the equaliser with his knee. Both sides went in search of a winner in the closing stages, but with neither wanting to make the decisive mistake, the game ended in a deserved 2-2 draw.

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann – Dudziak (Kalla 76'), Sobiech, Hornschuh (Avevor 90'+3), Buballa – Nehrig – Sobota (Sahin 79'), Møller Dæhli – Buchtmann – Allagui, Bouhaddouz

Head coach: Olaf Janssen

SG Dynamo Dresden

Schwäbe – Kreuzer (F. Müller 84'), J. Müller, Gonther, Heise – Konrad – Möschl (Lambertz 90'+3), Hartmann (Ballas 63'), Benatelli, Berko - Röser

Head coach: Uwe Neuhaus

Goals: 1-0 Buchtmann (22'), 1-1 Hartmann (29'), 2-1 Buchtmann (69'), 2-2 Röser (73')

Yellow cards: Nehrig – J. Müller, Ballas, Benatelli

Referee: Guido Winkmann

Attendance: 28,699

Photos: Witters