FC St. Pauli

A hectic schedule of three games in eight days with lots of travelling and little time to recover is a test of the endurance of every footballer. Yet a busy fixture list does have one major advantage – there is little time to dwell on frustrating defeats such as the 1-0 reverse at Aue that saw the Boys in Brown slip to 16^th in the table, the relegation/promotion play-off place. Moments after the final whistle goalkeeper Philipp Heerwagen pointed the way ahead saying: "On Tuesday we go again against Sandhausen at the am Millerntor. That'll be a completely different game." A view shared by Lasse Sobiech, who confessed to being glad to be facing a two-match week so soon.

As if Friday's defeat and the resulting bump down the table weren't motivation enough, the reverse fixture against tomorrow's opponents, which ended in a painful 3-0 defeat, will be fresh in the memory of most. And so it's only natural that Lienen's side will be out to make amends on Tuesday. They will be helped in their quest by a former Sandhausen player in Aziz Bouhaddouz. The striker returns to the attack after serving a one-match ban and is already fired up. "We'll show a different side to ourselves on Tuesday and want to get a result at the ‪Millerntor," he said at yesterday's press conference.

Yet Kenan Kocuk's team will be a tough nut to crack. After starting the season among the favourites to go down, as so often, Sandhausen already look safe in mid-table. Unless something drastic happens, they will again be represented in the second division next season. The Baden-Württemberg outfit impressed in the first half of the campaign with a compact, difficult to play against style of play. They have struggled to regain that form since the winter break, however, and come to the Millerntor on the back of a run of seven games without a win. No one in the St. Pauli camp should be deceived by this, however, as a solid defensive performance earned Sandhausen a point last time out in a goalless draw against VfL Bochum.

No easy task, then, for Ewald Lienen's men. But the qualities required when the games are coming thick and fast are just the kind of qualities the Boys in Brown have shown since the league resumed after the January break. Physicality and aggression, coupled with skill and technique, have seen them earn three more points in that time than in the entire first half of the season. That is how you battle against relegation. And if we add to that the roar of another packed house at the Millerntor, then there really can be only one winner! 

Photo: Witters