WOODWORK DENIES BOYS IN BROWN IN SCORELESS DRAW
Friday, 02. December 2016, 21:58 Uhr
A committed performance against FC Kaiserslautern went unrewarded as the game ended in a scoreless draw in front of 29,037 fans at the Millerntor. The best chances fell to Lasse Sobiech (11') and Aziz Bouhaddouz (47'), who both hit the woodwork. In the 32nd minute Zoltan Stieber missed a penalty for the visitors. All in all, the Boys in Brown had enough chances to win it.
Encouraged by what he described as an improved display at Heidenheim despite a 2-0 defeat, Ewald Lienen elected to go with the same back four for the visit of Kaiserslautern. The loss of Christopher Buchtmann to injury forced the 63-year-old to make a change in the centre of the park, however, Kyoungrok Choi slotting into attacking midfield alongside Richard Neudecker in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Cenk Sahin and Waldemar Sobota were handed opportunities on the flanks, with Daniel Buballa and Ryo Miyaichi starting on the bench.
Urged on by the home crowd, Lienen's men went out looking for their second win of the season from the opening whistle. Richard Neudecker won applause for a left-foot shot as early as the third minute that fizzed just past the post. Soon after Lasse Sobiech came within a whisker of giving his side the lead when he headed a Sobota cross against the bar. Unlucky!
The visitors enjoyed a spell of possession after that scare but were unable to find a way to unlock the St. Pauli defence. It was a different story at the other end. A ball in from Choi on 23 minutes was converted by Aziz Bouhaddouz, but the striker was in an offside position and the goal was disallowed. Four minutes later, however, Sören Gonther was rather impetuous in the tackle when Marcel Gaus threatened in the box, and referee Robert Hartmann had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
As if that were not bad enough, goalkeeper Robin Himmelmann sustained a muscle injury in the run-up and had to be replaced by Philipp Heerwagen, who received a rapturous reception from the home fans. All this meant Zoltan Stieber had to wait several minutes to take the penalty, which appeared to unnerve him and he directed his spot kick wide of the right-hand post. The Millerntor erupted.
The game exploded into life again and when Bernd Nehrig met a Hedenstad corner with a glancing header on 37, Julian Pollersbeck reacted brilliantly to turn the ball over the top. Both teams pushed forward in search of the opening goal but that's as far as it went and a pulsating first half ended with the score at 0-0 and the promise of more to come.
And there was more! Just two minutes into the second half Bouhaddouz struck the post with a deflected effort from a Sahin cross. The second time the Boys in Brown had hit the frame of the goal. Lienen's side now enjoyed more of the possession, with the visitors content to defend, but they were unable to seriously threaten the FCK goal.
As the game wore on, the proceedings lacked the intensity of the first half but the home side continued in search of their second win of the season. Lienen underlined this intent by introducing Marvin Ducksch for the more defensively minded Nehrig in the closing stages, the former Dortmund striker operating off the shoulder of Bouhaddouz.
In the final quarter of an hour both teams had plenty of space in which to break, but neither had any clear-cut chances to speak of. In the end, the Boys in Brown had to settle for a share of the points with Kaiserslautern despite a string of good chances and two efforts against the woodwork.
FC St. Pauli
Himmelmann (Heerwagen 30') – Hedenstad, Sobiech, Gonther, Keller – Nehrig (Ducksch 76') – Sahin, Choi, Neudecker, Sobota (Miyaichi 85') – Bouhaddouz
Head coach: Ewald Lienen
FC Kaiserslautern
Pollersbeck – Mwene, Koch, Ewerton, Aliji (Halfar 46') – Ziegler – Moritz, Gaus – Siteber (Zoua 71') – Görtler, Osawe
Head coach: Tayfun Korkut
Yellow cards: Nehrig, Bouhaddouz, Choi, Sahin (5th of the season) - Pollersbeck
Referee: Robert Hartmann
Attendance: 29,037
Photos: Witters