FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler named an unchanged side for the fifth time in succession, and it was nice to see Luca Zander return to the squad for the first time since picking up an injury at Karlsruhe in Round 17. Roared on by the home crowd, the Boys in Brown made a bright start to the game but were matched for effort in the opening stages by a combative Regensburg team that included old boy Christian Viet in the starting lineup. Manolis Saliakas was on target against both Fürth and Sandhausen and it was he who registered the first attempt on goal in the 15^th minute, pulling the trigger from just outside the box from Jackson Irvine’s layoff. His low drive from a central position proved no problem for Regensburg keeper Jonas Urbig, who was deputising once again for the recently fit-again former St. Pauli custodian Dejan Stojanović. 

Eight minutes later the ball did find the net. Following a hefty challenge by Steve Breitkreuz on Dapo Afolayan, for which the Regensburg player was booked, Marcel Hartel whipped the free-kick in with such venom that Urbig missed it completely – the ball looped up off Breitkreuz, coming back down among a group of players and somehow finding its way into the net. Dapo Afolayan took the plaudits, but Owuso appeared to be the last player to make contact, not that it mattered from a St. Pauli point of views.

The visitors had been probing from the off and almost hit back immediately after going behind when Blendi Idrizi was sent on his way and angled a shot narrowly wide of the far post. After a lull in the play, Jackson Irvine came close to making it 2-0 just before the interval when Urbig could only parry a long-range effort from Saliakas and the Australia midfielder hit a first-time shot with his left foot that looked to be going in until it struck Lukas Daschner and deflected off target.

Both teams emerged unchanged for the second half, and it was the Boys in Brown who threatened first through Afolayan. The former Bolton Wanderers man outpaced a defender, but the angle was a bit too tight and his shot from the left-hand side of the penalty area flew wide of the far post. The alarm bells were ringing at the other end when Nikola Vasilj was called into action for the first time and did brilliantly to turn a deflected effort from Sarpreet Singh round the post for a corner. Hürzeler responded to his side’s passivity on the hour, beefing up his attack with the addition of striker David Otto for Connor Metcalfe. 

It made little difference, however, and the game descended into a scrappy affair with both sides careless in their passing and harmless in front of goal, prompting the noise levels from the home crowd to edge up a few notches. In the 70^th minute, Afolayan limped off after picking up an injury and was replaced by Betim Fazliji. Two minutes later, Idrizi almost drew his side level out of the blue when Vasilj kicked the ball straight to him. The keeper immediately atoned for his error, however, producing a fine save to block the Regensburg midfielder’s shot.

Visiting coach Mersad Selimbegović went for broke in the closing stages, introducing leading scorer Andreas Albers and fellow striker Haralambos Makridis. Regensburg knocked on the door several times, causing the home defence serious problems and any chances on the break dried up with no meaningful attempts on goal for the Hürzeler XI. In a resolute team effort, however, the Boys in Brown saw the game out to record their ninth win on the bounce.

FC St. Pauli 

Vasilj - Medić, Smith, Medić - Saliakas (Zander 90’), Irvine (C), Hartel, Paqarada (Ritzka 90’) - Metcalfe (Otto 60’), Daschner, Afolayan (Fazliji 70’)

Head coach: Fabian Hürzeler

SSV Jahn Regensburg

Urbig - Guwara, Elvedi, Breitkreuz (Yildirim 90’), Saller (C) - Viet (Günther 87’), Thalhammer - Idrizi (Albers 74’), Caliskaner, Singh (Makridis 74’) - Owusu (Gouras 87’)

Head coach: Mersad Selimbegović

Goals: 1-0 Owusu (o.g. 23’)

Yellow cards: Saliakas, Daschner – Singh, Owusu, Breitkreuz, Elvedi

Referee: Bastian Dankert (Rostock)

Attendance: 29,235

Fotos: FC St. Pauli / Witters