FC St. Pauli

Before the friendly against the Championship outfit a club delegation led by vice-president Hanna Obersteller visited a war memorial in Coventry to pay respects to the victims of the air raids on the city in 1940. FC St. Pauli is grateful for the opportunity to share this moment with the people of Coventry in a spirit of humility, solidarity and collective responsibility.

Head coach Alexander Blessin had already announced his intention to give some of his squad more playing time than in previous warm-up matches, most of whom had only played 45 minutes on each occasion. The starting lineup began in a 3-4-3 formation and featured five new signings in Arkadiusz Pyrka, Louis Oppie, Joel Chima Fujita, Andréas Hountondji and Mathias Pereira Lage.

The first chance of the game fell to the home side in the eighth minute when a St. Pauli build-up broke down and Victor Torp collected a pass before firing a shot narrowly wide of the target. The response came almost immediately. Sky Blues keeper Carl Rushworth fluffed his lines attempting to play the ball forward outside his own area, but Pereira Lage was unable to capitalise on the mistake with his attempt on the open goal from 25 metres.

Coventry opened the scoring in the 18^th minute when a free-kick from the left somehow found its way through a thicket of defenders, leaving Brandon Thomas-Asante the simple task of tapping the ball over the line from a couple of metres out. Five minutes later the Boys in Brown showed where the focus has been in pre-season. Pyrka won possession in midfield and switched the play immediately, knocking a ball to Pereira Lage, who in turn moved it on to Hountondji. His shot smacked against the left-hand upright to deny his side an early equaliser.

The intensity dropped off a little in the ensuing period, with the Blessin XI unable to find a way through the tightly marshalled Coventry rearguard. Frank Lampard's side tried their luck with lots of long balls, a strategy that brought them some success, as in the 38^th minute when Thomas-Asante latched onto one such ball to almost sneak a shot in at the near post. Sixty seconds later, Torp was unable to get the better of Nikola Vasilj.

There was more to come, albeit at the other end. Rushworth again undercooked a ball out under pressure, allowing Hountondji to place a shot beyond the keeper and into the empty net to leave the sides level at the break.

The team celebrate the first equaliser.

The two teams emerged unchanged for the second half. Again, the first attempt on goal came from the home side, and again it was Thomas-Asante. The centre-forward received the ball just outside the box and forced a fine save from Vasilj. For the Boys in Brown, it was Oladapo Afolayan who unleashed the first shot on goal in the second half. The Englishman picked the ball up his own half and carried it forward to the opposition penalty area, where his resolute effort was defused by Rushworth.

Blessin made a triple change with half an hour to go, introducing Saliakas, Metcalfe and Ceesay for Pyrka, Afolayan and Hountondji, but Coventry continued to create the better chances. The home side switched the play quickly to put Thomas-Asante in a one-on-one with Vasilj, but once again the Bosnia keeper came out on top.

Twenty minutes from time the remainder of the starting XI, apart from Vasilj, left the field to make way for fresh legs. The new lineup was still finding its feet when Coventry City substitute Ellis Simms restored his team's advantage with a header into the far corner.

This time, the response was not long in coming. After Danel Sinani had had a first-time effort saved by Rushworth, he went one better with his second attempt, beating the Coventry keeper after some great work by Abdoulie Ceesay. Blessin's side went in search of a winner, but another effort by Sinani missed the target by some distance and it remained 2-2.

Coventry City

Rushworth – Dasilva (Brau 66'), Thomas, Kitching, Kesler-Hayden – Sheaf (Allen 66'), Grimes – Mason-Clark, Torp, Sakamoto – Thomas-Asante

Head coach: Frank Lampard

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj – Nemeth (Ritzka 72'), Smith (Dźwigała 72'), Wahl (Stevens 72') – Oppie (Ahlstrand 72'), Fujita (Sinani 72'), Sands (Schmidt 72'), Pyrka (Saliakas 63') – Pereira Lage (Banks 72'), Hountondji (Ceesay 63'), Afolayan (Metcalfe 63')

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Goals: 1-0 Thomas-Asante (18'), 1-1 Hountondji (43'), Simms (75), Sinani (81')

Yellow cards: –

Referee: Tom Reeves

Attendance: 10,000

Photos: FC St. Pauli