FC St. Pauli

Head coach Timo Schultz made two changes to the side that lost 2-1 at Eintracht Braunschweig last time out. Adam Dźwigała replaced David Nemeth (groin) in central defence, while fit-again Leart Paqarada returned to the side in place of Lars Ritzka, who dropped to the bench. Our crosstown rivals made just one adjustment from the 1-1 draw with Kaiserslautern, Tim Walter giving Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer the nod over Sonny Kittel. 

The noise levels inside the Millerntor, which unlike the last two home derbies was not affected by the pandemic and thus sold out, were something else well before the 108th Hamburg derby kicked off. By the time the home side finally got the ball rolling, the atmosphere was electric. The Boys in Brown hit the ground running and created their first goalscoring opportunity after just 11 seconds when captain Jackson Irvine unloaded following a long ball from Etienne Amenyido. His effort took a deflection and went out for a corner. Marcel Hartel delivered a perfect ball straight to Irvine, whose header flew just over the crossbar. A bright start from the Schultz XI, who started with a back five when HSV had the ball, with Eric Smith dropping back. That strategy created problems for the visitors, who had won eight successive league games away from home, meaning they were unable to create anything through their fleet-footed wingers Bakery Jatta and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer.

Ludovit Reis did find a gap through the middle with 11 minutes gone, however. His mazy run ended with a shot from just outside the box, but Nikola Vasilj was alert to the danger and cleared the ball with the help of Manolis Saliakas. Then, at the other end, the Boys in Brown almost took the lead. Afeez Aremu won possession in midfield and the ball found its way to Saliakas on the right via Amenyido and Irvine. The Greek full-back whipped a low ball in to Amenyido, but Daniel Heuer Fernandes was able to defuse his shot from 14 metres with an excellent save. Almost immediately, Jatta had the ball in the net on the break, but referee Deniz Aytekin had long stopped the game and the goal did not count. Soon after, HSV threatened again. László Bénes dispatched a free-kick into the middle from the left, Jatta flicked it on and Robert Glatzel stretched to meet it but could only head wide.

In a high-intensity, yet fair contest, the action ebbed and flowed. Time for a breather? No chance! Suddenly, the noise levels went up another notch. Mario Vušković misjudged an upfield ball from Vasilj and Amenyido outpaced Sebastian Schonlau, who looked to have been taken by surprise. He threw out an arm and brought down Amenyido with no other defender near him. Aytekin immediately blew his whistle and showed the HSV captain the red card for a last-man foul. It was now a completely different ball game, of course. The Boys in Brown had more possession, with the visitors defending deeper, content to close down the space and wait for a chance to break, albeit with no end product. The Boys in Brown, for their part, struggled to find a gap until Matanović met an inch-perfect cross from Paqarada with the outside of his foot, only to see the ball strike the far post. With nothing more happening, the two teams went in at the break goalless.

The 28th minute: Etienne Amenyido is faster than Sebastian Schonlau, who extends an arm to bring Amenyido down and is shown the red card.

Both sides emerged unchanged for the second half and initially had to contend with the smoke bellowing from the stands. Once again, the Boys in Brown had the first chance. Smith hit a long pass to Saliakas, his cross found Amenyido, and he laid the ball off for Hartel, whose shot from 14 metres was blocked. Soon after, Jakov Medić had an opportunity to give his side the lead from a corner, but his header flew a couple of metres wide of the right-hand upright. Moments later, Paqarada rifled an angled drive a touch further past the far post from the left channel. There were then appeals for a penalty at the other end when Medić tussled with Königsdörffer, who went down in the box. Aytekin's decision to wave play on was the correct one.

The Schultz XI dominated the play against ten men and created several chances in quick succession. Paqarada unleashed another powerful drive from the left, this time with his weaker right foot, only to hit the side netting. Matanović headed a good three metres off target from a Saliakas cross. And then, Smith proved more accurate, outjumping Heyer from a Hartel corner to direct an unstoppable header past Heuer Fernandes. The Millerntor erupted - 1-0 on 61! Three minutes later, HSV popped up at the other end for the first time in a while, but Vasilj had no problems dealing with Königsdörffer's shot. Medić had injured his right shoulder in the run-up.

As the game wore on, the tackles began to fly in with no quarter given by either side. Amenyido was one of several players who had to undergo treatment and eventually had to go off. Lukas Daschner came on in his place. No sooner had he entered the fray then he was able to celebrate the second goal with his teammates! Saliakas knocked the ball into the path of Irvine, who hit it low into the middle, where Matanović failed to make contact. That was no bad thing, however, because Hartel obliged and slotted into the bottom left corner from twelve metres to make it 2-0 on 74.

With ten minutes left, Matanović was denied by Heuer Fernandes from a Paqarada cross and then left the field along with Saliakas. Schultz introduced Luca Zander and David Otto in their place and then threw on Lars Ritzka and Connor Metcalfe for Leart Paqarada and Afeez Aremu. With HSV no longer a threat, the Boys in Brown continued to push forward and were rewarded for a third time. Ritzka crossed from the left into the middle, where Otto was left completely unmarked to head home from close range. The Boys in Brown saw the game out to secure a well-earned 3-0 victory and take back the derby bragging rights!

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Saliakas (Zander 80'), Dźwigała, Medić, Paqarada (Ritzka 85') - Smith, Aremu (Metcalfe 85'), Irvine, Hartel - Amenyido (Daschner 71'), Matanović (Otto 80')

Head coach: Timo Schultz

Hamburger SV

Heuer Fernandes - Heyer (Bilbija 87'), Vušković, Schonlau, Muheim - Meffert, Reis, Bénes (Dompé 65') - Königsdörffer (Kittel 75'), Glatzel, Jatta

Head coach: Tim Walter

Goals: 1-0 Smith (61'), 2-0 Hartel (74'), 3-0 Otto (89')

Yellow cards: Medić, Vasilj, Saliakas - Heuer Fernandes

Red card: Schonlau (last-man foul 28')

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberasbach)

Attendance: 29,205 (sold out)

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters