FC St. Pauli

With the exception of Maurides (rehab after knee surgery), head coach Fabian Hürzeler had a full complement of players at his disposal for the friendly against the Danish outfit. Jackson Irvine returned from a calf injury and went straight into the starting lineup, partnering Eric Smith in holding midfield.

The Boys in Brown edged the possession in the opening stages, but it was the Danish side who registered the first chance of the game on nine minutes, Hugo Andersson heading just wide of the target from a corner. At the other end, Etienne Amenyido dragged a shot wide following an Oladapo Afolayan cross. In a high-intensity encounter, Randers stepped up their efforts, but the next chance fell to the Boys in Brown when Amenyido fired just over first time following a chipped pass from Smith. The Hürzeler XI continued to press, and Irvine volleyed over after a foray down the left. That was the last action of note in the first 30 of a total of 120 minutes.

After a short break and the first change of ends, the Boys in Brown took the lead when Hauke Wahl netted from close range following a corner. Five minutes later, Carlo Boukhalfa almost made it 2-0 after receiving the ball from Philipp Treu, his shot was cleared off the line. Irvine’s shift ended just after that. The Australian was replaced by Johannes Eggestein. He could only look on as Mustapha Ubandoma levelled the scores from the edge of the box on 47. A couple of minutes later, Eggestein was denied by Randers keeper Patrik Carlgren, but Andreas Albers was hand to convert the rebound.

Hauke Wahl beats Patrik Carlgren from close range to give his side a 37th minute lead.

Fabian Hürzeler rang the changes for the second half, with Eggestein the only player to continue after the interval. The Boys in Brown made a bright start but were unable to add a third initially, with substitute Alexander Nybo on hand to keep them out on 64. The Randers keeper was left picking the ball out of the net four minutes later, however, when Adam Dźwigała volleyed into the bottom right corner from just inside the box after being picked out by Elias Saad following a corner. The crowd of just over 200 had to wait until the 90^th minute for the next opportunity, Jakov Medić being denied by Nybo.

Sören Ahlers replaced Sascha Burchert between the posts for the final 30 minutes. The Hürzeler XI continued to dictate the proceedings in the fourth quarter, with their rehearsed patterns looking very good. Saad forced his way down the left and his ball in was headed wide by Otto. A few minutes later, Saad went for goal himself, and his effort was only a touch too high. Dźwigała proved more accurate just before the end when he again scored from range following a corner. Otto almost made it five but his shot from the edge cleared the crossbar and it ended 4-1.

Commenting after the game, head coach Fabian Hürzeler said: “It was an intensive encounter. Physicality is part and parcel of the game, and my team gave us as good as they got. It’s important to focus on the football and not be guided too much by emotions. The win will give us confidence and the margin of victory could, and perhaps should, have been higher. We only allowed them two chances. We’ve taken another step forward and played better football against a better team than the ones previously. Towards the end I wasn’t overly happy with our chance conversion rate.”

Randers FC (starting lineup)

Carlgren - Dammers, Andersson, Berg Johnson, Nordli, L. Pedersen, Klysner, Kaastrup, Ubandoma, Egho, Odey

Head coach: Rasmus Bertelsen

FC St. Pauli

1^st half: Vasilj - Günther, Wahl, Mets, Treu - Smith, Irvine (Eggestein 43’) - Afolayan, Boukhalfa, Amenyido - Albers

2^nd half: Burchert (Ahlers 91’) - Dźwigała, Medić, Nemeth - Saliakas, Aremu, Hartel, Ritzka - Saad, Eggestein (Otto 83’), Metcalfe

Head coach: Fabian Hürzeler

Goals: 0-1 Wahl (37’), 1-1 Ubandoma (47’), 2-1 Albers (49’), 3-1 Dźwigała (68’), 4-1 Dźwigała (116’)

Yellow cards: Kaastrup – Boukhalfa, Irvine, Nemeth

Referee: Robert Schröder (Hannover)

Attendance: approx. 200

Photos: FC St. Pauli / Witters