FC St. Pauli

Head coach Timo Schultz made one change to the team that won 4-2 at Heidenheim last time out, Maximilian Dittgen, who scored twice after coming on as a substitute, coming in for Christopher Buchtmann. Leart Paqarada had been a doubt after carrying a knee injury during the week but was given the green light to play, while Etienne Amenyido made his first appearance in the squad. Hansa Rostock, in contrast, made three adjustments from the 1-1 draw against Sandhausen, Björn Rother, Kevin Schumacher and Jonathan Meier replacing Calogero Rizzuto, who was serving a one-match ban, and Simon Rhein and Ridge Munsy, who dropped to the bench. A certain starter for Hansa was former St. Pauli favourite John Verhoek, who had scored six of Rostock's eleven goals going into the game.

In bright autumn sunshine, the two sides matched the intensity of the Millerntor atmosphere from the off. The visitors made a bright start, and with the Boys in Brown struggling to get going in the opening stages, it was they who fashioned the first chance on ten minutes when the ball was knocked down the middle into the box. Verhoek found himself in space in front of Nikola Vasilj, but the keeper was out quickly to make the block. Moments later, Rostock custodian Markus Kolke gathered an angled drive by Maximilian Dittgen, but there was nothing he could do when Daniel-Kofi Kyereh dispatched a high ball over the top to Luca Zander, who hooked it back into the middle for Jackson Irvine to head home from five metres. One-nil to the Boys in Brown after 12 minutes!

Six minutes later it was two. Leart Paqarada wrongfooted Nico Neidhart on the left and crossed the ball into the middle for Kofi Kyereh to send a glancing header into the far corner. Kolke had been powerless to stop either goal but on 24 he produced a brilliant stop to prevent Dittgen from adding a third with a shot that was heading for the far corner. Marcel Hartel then tried his luck from the left-hand corner of the box, but his shot was too centrally placed and proved no problem for Kolke.

Two goals to the good, the Schultz XI dominated the proceedings from then on, giving little away at the back and pushing forward at pace. As half-time approached, the chant "We love St. Pauli, fabulous St. Pauli" rang round the ground for minutes on end, alternating between the South and East Stands and getting louder all the time. Magnificent! There was plenty of action on the pitch as well. Kolke denied Zander a chance to make it 3-0, and then Vasilj was on hand to keep out a shot from Nik Omladic. And when Kolke had turned a goalbound Paqarada effort over the bar, the referee blew his whistle for half-time.

Jackson Irvine (centre) opens the scoring with his first goal for the club.

Both sides emerged unchanged for the second 45. The noise inside the Millerntor continued abated, especially when Guido Burgstaller stuck the ball in the net five minutes in. It went to VAR, however, and the goal was ruled after Irvine was found to be in a slight offside position. Burgstaller then turned provider for Kyereh with a brilliant piece of work, but his first-time drive from the inside-right channel smacked against the far post. To their credit, the visitors looked to get forward whenever they could but were unable to breach the impregnable brown-and-white rearguard, with Verhoek kept in check by Philipp Ziereis and Jakov Medić.

Hansa coach Jens Härtel responded with a triple substitution on the hour in the shape of Ridge Munsy, Haris Duljević and Streli Mamba. They came on just in time to see Burgstaller hit the back of the net again, and this time it counted. What a fine goal it was! The striker met an exquisite, angled cross from Hartel first time, volleying the ball beyond Kolke into the far corner from twelve metres to register his tenth goal of the season.

The Boys in Brown continued to set the tone and had the next opportunity on 67 when Kyereh escaped the attentions of several Rostock players, only to aim a touch too high from 18 metres. Timo Schultz then made his first two changes, wing-backs Luca Zander and Leart Paqarada making way for Adam Dźwigała and Lars Ritzka.

It was largely one-way traffic in the closing changes, with almost all of the action unfolding in the Rostock half. Schultz made another double switch on 77, introducing James Lawrence and Simon Makienok for Jakov Medić and Guido Burgstaller. No sooner had they come on than it was 4-0, and both substitutes were involved. Hartel swang a corner into the middle and found the head of Lawrence, and when the ball dropped for Makienok, he wasted no time smashing it into the top corner from close range.

In the 82^nd minute, Schultz handed Etienne Amenyido his debut, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh the man to make way. It was all over bar the shouting now and the game petered out to a close, leaving the Boys in Brown and the 22,006 fans inside the ground to celebrate a convincing 4-0 win, the sixth in succession at the Millerntor.

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Zander (Dźwigała 69'), Ziereis, Medić (Lawrence 77'), Paqarada (Ritzka 69') - Aremu, Irvine, Hartel, Kyereh (Amenyido 82') - Dittgen, Burgstaller (Makienok 77')

Head coach: Timo Schultz

Hansa Rostock

Kolke - Neidhart (Riedel 69'), Meissner, Rossbach, Meier - Fröde, Rother - Omladič (Munsy 60'), Behrens, Schumacher (Duljević 60') - Verhoek (Mamba 60')

Head Coach: Jens Härtel

Goals: 1-0 Irvine (12'), 2-0 Kyereh (18'), 3-0 Burgstaller (61'), 4-0 Makienok (78')

Yellow cards: Verhoek, Rother

Referee: Harm Osmers (Hanover)

Attendance: 22,006

Photos: Witters