FC St. Pauli

Lienen made one change to the side that overcame Karlsruhe 5-0 last time out, fit-again Lasse Sobiech coming in for Sören Gonther. The Lions, fifth in the current form table before the game, came out firing on all cylinders and fashioned two early chances. Maximilian Wittek went close with a long-distance effort in the seventh minute and Ivica Olic did the same with a header on 10. After withstanding the early onslaught, the Boys in Brown began to enjoy more of the possession and there were no further attempts on Philipp Heerwagen's goal.

Yet just as St. Pauli looked to be taking control of the proceedings, they almost fell behind to a moment of quality from the home side on 21 minutes. After defusing a corner, Victor Pereira's men broke out of defence at lightning speed and knocked the ball forward to Amilton in the channel. Heerwagen was alert to the danger, however, and raced out of his goal to clear.

There was nothing Heerwagen could do six minutes later, however. The Munich outfit won possession in midfield and worked their way down the right-hand side, where Stefan Aigner charged to the byline and cut the ball back for the unmarked Lumor to slide a shot home.

Lienen's side refused to let the shock knock them out of the stride and were level within nine minutes. Waldemar Sobota carried the ball forward in the opposition half and tried his luck from 25 metres out. His shot took a deflection and struck the hand of defender Abdoulaye Ba. Referee Bibiana Steinhaus had no hesitation in awarding a penalty and Lasse Sobiech stepped up to convert with aplomb.

And there was more. Just five minutes later Cenk Sahin dispatched a cross from the right straight onto the head of Aziz Bouhaddouz, who did what all strikers in a rich vein of form do and nodded home to make it 2-1. The Boys in Brown had turned the game around within five minutes and enjoyed a well-earned breather when Steinhaus blew for half-time soon afterwards.

Both teams started the second half unchanged. As in the first half, the home side immediately piled the pressure on Philipp Heerwagen's goal and soon threatened. Just two minutes in, a ball in from the right found its way to Amilton, who wasted no time pulling the trigger from eight metres, only for Sobiech to throw himself in the way and prevent what looked like a certain goal with his thigh. Olic and Aigner then squandered promising opportunities on 49 and 51, ensuring the Boys in Brown emerged from the early storm unscathed.

The alarm bells rang again on the hour when a long pass from Ba found Aigner, who evaded a challenge in the box and cut the ball back across the face of the goal. But Heerwagen kept a cool ahead once again and defused the danger. Apart from that, the Boys in Brown had little trouble coping with the home side's attacking efforts. Lienen made his first change on 64 minutes with the introduction of Philipp Ziereis for the dog-tired Mats Møller Dæhli. The timing was perfect, as the hosts stepped up the pressure again. A wave of attacks followed but the St. Pauli rearguard showed fight, application and passion to hold firm.

The closing stages were ushered in by Lienen's second substitution, Cenk Sahin making way for Jan-Philipp Kalla with 75 minutes gone. The Lions continued to push forward but were unable to find a way through a solid St. Pauli defence superbly marshalled by Lasse Sobiech. It was to prove a nervy final quarter of an hour.

With six minutes left, a corner taken by Lumor resulted in a wild goalmouth scramble in which the ball pinballed around the danger area until it was somehow hooked away by Marc Hornschuh. It remained a very tense affair and not for those of a nervous disposition, but after three minutes of time added on Bibiana Steinhaus ended the proceedings to confirm another three points for the Boys in Brown!

TSV 1860 Munich

Ortega – Boenisch, Ba, Uduokhai – Wittek, Bülow, Lacazette (Liendl 58'), Lumor – Amilton, Aigner (Ribamar 75') – Olic (Gytkjaer 58')

Head coach: Victor Pereira

FC St. Pauli

Heerwagen – Dudziak, Sobiech, Hornschuh, Buballa – Nehrig, Buchtmann – Sahin (Kalla 75'), Dæhli (Ziereis 64'), Sobota– Bouhaddouz (Thy 90')

Head coach: Ewald Lienen

Goals: 1-0 Lumor (26'), 1-1 Sobiech (pen. 36'), 1-2 Bouhaddouz (41')

Yellow cards: Uduokhai - Ziereis, Bouhaddouz, Nehrig 

Referee: Bibiana Steinhaus

Attendance: 24,000

Photo: Witters