FC St. Pauli

Head coach Markus Kauczinski had to rethink his starting lineup due to the loss of Christopher Buchtmann (thigh strain), Richard Neudecker (ankle sprain) and Johannes Flum, who had missed the game at Regensburg due to suspension but is now ill. Waldemar Sobota and Luca Zander came into the side for their first starts since the game against Cologne in early September. Marvin Knoll gave the thumbs up after struggling with a muscle problem during the week and started along with Ryo Miyaichi, who came in for Henk Veerman. Kauczinski had gone with a 4-4-2 formation in the 1-1 draw at Regensburg but this time he opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Sami Allagui, who in the absence of Bernd Nehrig (not selected) and Flum was handed the captain's armband, in the lone striker role.

It was eerily silent at the Millerntor as the game kicked off, and with both sides lacking punch and precision in attack neither defence was troubled early on. Robin Himmelmann unintentionally elicited some noise from the sell-out crowd when he lost control of the ball for a second in the fifth minute, but that was to remain the only episode of note in the opening stages. The visitors did enjoy slightly more of the play in this phase, but they were unable to draw any capital from their extra possession.

Then, all of a sudden, the ball was in the net. Sobota broke clear, took the ball round Dynamo custodian Markus Schubert and tapped the ball into the empty net to the plaudits of the home crowd, only for referee Deniz Aytekin to rule the goal out for offside. Minutes later Baris Atik dragged a shot well wide following a corner but then Kauczinski was forced to make an early substitution. Knoll was unable to continue due to a muscle problem at the back of his right thigh and was replaced in defensive midfield by Ersin Zehir.

There was to be more injury woe for the Boys in Brown ten minutes before the interval when Mats Møller Dæhli was forced off after suffering a blow to his left knee. Kauczinski responded by introducing a second striker in Henk Veerman. On 43 minutes the Dutchman threaded a ball through for Sobota, but Schubert vacated his goal quickly to gather just in time. The clock then showed 45 minutes up and with the fans ending their support boycott the final 60 seconds of time added were played out in a cauldron of noise.

Waldemar Sobota rounds Markus Schubert to score after 20 minutes and break the silence momentarily, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

The game could only get better in the second half and it did just that. Less than a minute had passed when the Boys in Brown fashioned their first chance of the game. A half-cleared ball landed at the feet of Allagui, whose drilled effort flew just over the top. And just 45 seconds later the Millerntor erupted! Miyaichi crossed from the right, Sobota headed the ball to Veerman and he chipped it towards Allagui. His shot was blocked but the deflection fell perfectly for Dudziak to slide the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. 1-0!

On finding themselves behind the visitors stepped up a gear but were unable to find a way through a packed St. Pauli rearguard. A 30-metre free-kick from Brian Hamalainen that sailed well off target on 57 minutes was initially all they had to show for their efforts. At the other end Dudziak embarked on a run that took him past several defenders but was denied from a narrow angle by Schubert.

Dresden boss Maik Walpurgis reacted with an attacking substitution, Patrick Ebert entering the fray in place of Rico Benatelli in the 71^st minute. Kauczinski followed suit and introduced fresh legs in Cenk Sahin for Miyaichi. Soon after, Himmelmann was forced to intervene when Moussa Koné turned in the box and went for goal from 12 metres. His gloves had enough grip again nine minutes later when Ebert pulled the trigger from distance, but there was nothing the keeper could do on 85 when Jannik Müller met a corner with his head to level for the visitors.

The Boys in Brown threw everyone forward in the closing minutes and came close to finding a winner on three occasions, but Schubert was having none of it. The Dresden stopper first denied Veerman and then produced a brilliant reaction to keep out Dudziak's close-range volley before recovering to thwart Veerman once again.

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann - Zander, Ziereis, Avevor, Buballa - Knoll (Zehir 24'), Dudziak - Miyaichi (Sahin 74'), Møller Dæhli (Veerman 36'), Sobota - Allagui

Head coach: Markus Kauczinski

Dynamo Dresden

Schubert - Müller, Dumic, Hamalainen - Berko (Duljevic 80'), Benatelli (Ebert 71'), Nikolaou, Heise - Aosman, Atik (Kreuzer 80') - Koné

Head coach: Maik Walpurgis

Goals: 1-0 Dudziak (47'), 1-1 Müller (85')

Yellow cards: Zehir, Miyaichi, Dudziak – Dumic

Referee: Deniz Aytekin

Attendance: 29,546 (sold out)

Photos: Witters