FC St. Pauli

Head coach Timo Schultz was forced to make one change to the side that beat HSV last time out, Adam Dźwigała coming in at right-back for the ailing Luca Zander (foot). His opposite number, Lukas Kwasniok, made two adjustments following his team's 4-1 win at Werder Bremen, Marcel Mehlem and Robin Yalcin starting in place of the injured Felix Platte (double goalscorer at Bremen) and Maximilian Thalhammer.

After a minute's silence in memory of all-time leading Bundesliga scorer Gerd Müller, the game kicked off in bright sunshine in front of 6,000 spectators. The home side came flying out of the traps and fashioned the first chance with less than 30 seconds on the clock, and it took a combined effort by the Boys in Brown to clear the danger. Five minutes later, a long ball forward by Paderborn keeper Jannik Huth caught the St. Pauli rearguard on the hop, and with Sven Michel bearing down on goal Philipp Ziereis tugged him back. Referee Benjamin Brand whipped out the red card and pointed to spot, but when Dennis Srbeny stepped up to take the kick, Nikola Vasilj guessed the right way and made the save.

As might be expected, it was largely one-way traffic in the ensuing period. Paderborn pressed the ball early, pegging the Boys in Brown back in their own half, yet for all the home side's pressure, they were unable to threaten Nikola Vasilj's goal. Timo Schultz's charges threw everything into their defending and were not averse to going forward either. With 25 minutes gone, Guido Burgstaller sent Daniel-Kofi Kyereh on his way, and it took a sliding tackle from Robin Yalcin to cut out the danger. Kyereh threatened a second time moments later, again from a Burgstaller pass, and once again it was Yalcin who stepped in to tidy up. Just 60 seconds later, the double act of Kyereh and Burgstaller took centre stage once more – but this time with the roles reversed. Finn Ole Becker knocked the ball out wide to Kyereh, who dispatched it into the middle for Burgstaller to steer a pinpoint first-time effort past Paderborn keeper Huth! What a strike!

The lead was not entirely undeserved. On the contrary, for all their possession, Paderborn lacked punch. The Boys in Brown, for their part, continued to show commitment, courage and elan in abundance. Around five minutes before the interval, however, the home side carved out two chances in quick succession. First, Marco Schuster headed a Marcel Mehlem cross just over and then Vasilj defused another header from Srbeny. But on the stoke of half-time, the equaliser finally came. Yalcin crossed into the box and, in a bitterly disappointing end to the first 45, Adam Dźwigała could only head into his own goal as he attempted to clear the danger.

Referee Benjamin Brand dismisses Philipp Ziereis early on.

Both teams emerged unchanged for the second half and Kyereh had a huge chance to restore his side's lead almost immediately. The attacking midfielder took advantage when Van der Werff slipped on the halfway line to bear down on the Paderborn goal, but with only Huth to beat he was denied by the keeper's outstretched leg. Two minutes later, Mehlem fired narrowly off target from ten metres, the signal for the home side to begin to capitalise on the man advantage. Ron Schallenberg met a free-kick with a neat backheel, but Vasilj went full stretch to make the save. Srbeny came within a whisker of scoring shortly after, and then Mehlem headed just over.

A goal was in the air and Paderborn thought they had it on 61, but Yalcin's strike was ruled out because Srbeny was narrowly offside when teeing him up. At the other end, Becker hit a goalbound shot on the turn, only for Huth to dive to his right and push the ball round the post for a corner. The goal finally came on 65, and it was the hosts who claimed it, Michel laying the ball off for Kai Pröger, who had only just entered the fray, to rifle a shot into the top corner from just outside the box.

That made it doubly difficult for the ten men in brown to take anything from the Benteler-Arena, of course, but they refused to give the game up and, with the home pressure subsiding, went in search of an equaliser. Kyereh pinged a shot just wide from 20 metres, and then Eric Smith forced Huth into a smart save with a curling effort from distance. The Boys in Brown continued to press, and when the home side failed to clear their lines, Burgstaller had a shot blocked by Hünemeier.

For the closing stages Schultz threw on Maximilian Dittgen and Christopher Buchtmann for Eric Smith and Marcel Hartel. The Boys in Brown maintained their morale and in the final minute of regulation time launched a decent attack through Kyereh and Rico Benatelli, but the substitute's shot was charged down by the Paderborn defence. And with the visitors pushing forward, Sven Michel put the game to bed from Pröger's pass in the third minute of time added on. Reduced to ten for 84 minutes, the Boys in Brown showed great commitment throughout but were unable to ward off their first defeat of the season.

SC Paderborn 07

Huth - Schuster, Hünemeier, Van der Werff, Collins - Yalcin (Pröger 63'), Schallenberg, Mehlem (Thalhammer 84') - Justvan (Hartmann 75') - Srbeny (Stiepermann 84'), Michel

Head coach: Lukas Kwasniok

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj – Dźwigała (Viet 61'), Ziereis, Medić, Paqarada – Smith (Buchtmann 82'), Becker (Benatelli 61'), Hartel (Dittgen 82'), Kyereh – Makienok (Lawrence 11'), Burgstaller

Head coach: Timo Schultz

Goals: 0-1 Burgstaller (28'), 1-1 Dźwigała (o.g. 44'), 2-1 Pröger (65'), 3-1 Michel (90'+3)

Yellow cards: Michel – Smith

Red card: Ziereis (last-man foul: 6')

Referee: Benjamin Brand (Unterspiesheim)

Attendance: 6,000