FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin again fielded a very different side from the previous pre-season outings. Nikola Vasilj made his first start in goal, while new recruit Louis Oppie featured in the squad for the first time.

In a busy opening, the Boys in Brown had the Danish top-division club under pressure right away, forcing several turnovers high up the pitch. With four minutes gone, one of them was pounced upon by Oladapo Afolayan, who switched quickly to dribble his way down the left and deliver a cross into the middle for Abdoulie Ceesay to bundle the ball over the line from close range.

Blessin’s team continued to push and doubled their lead midway through the half, this time from a move down the right. A crossfield ball found Arkadiusz Pyrka with plenty of time to pick out Afolayan with a textbook cross, and he finished clinically into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. Silkeborg’s response was not long in coming, Tonni Adamsen latching on to a pass from the left corner of the penalty box following a slick counterattack to pull one back. There was no let-up in the pace after that, but the chances dried up at both ends to leave it 2-1 at the break.

The St. Pauli boss replaced all 11 starters for the second half, but in a change from the friendly at Drochtersen/Assel, he stuck with his 3-4-3 formation. He also handed Louis Oppie his debut. The Boys in Brown again made the better start and a turnover in midfield with 53 minutes gone saw Danel Sinani feed new signing Andréas Hountondji, who hit a low cross for Mathias Pereira Lage to net at the back post from a few metres out.

Still the Blessin XI moved the ball forward with elan. Louis Oppie got involved in the attack, cutting inside and unleashing a right-foot shot that flew narrowly wide. Defensively, the Boys in Brown gave little away at the back, keeping Silkeborg well away from their goal. Simon Spari, who replaced Nikola Vasilj at half-time, had virtually nothing to do.

At the other end, a wonderful passing move in the box in the 82^nd minute ended with Pereira Lage teeing up the better placed Hountondji, who had no trouble finding the net to complete a deserved 4-1 victory.

FC St. Pauli

1^st half: Vasilj – Robatsch, Wahl, Dźwigała – Ahlstrand, Sands, Fujita, Pyrka – Afolayan, Ceesay, Banks

2^nd half: Spari – Ritzka, Nemeth, Westphal – Oppie, Fujita, Sinani, Stevens – Pereira Lage, Hountondji, Metcalfe

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Silkeborg IF (starting XI)

N. Larsen – Gammelby, Ganchas, Østrøm, Poulsen, Mattsson, M. Larsen, Freundlich, Bakiz, McCowatt, Adamsen

Head coach: Kent Nielsen

Goals: 1-0 Ceesay (4’), 2-0 Afolayan (20’), 2-1 Adamsen (24’), 3-1 Pereira Lage (53’), 4-1 Hountondji (82’)

Yellow cards: Andersen

Referee: Lennart Kernchen (TuS Wettbergen)

Attendance: approx. 1,000

Photos: FC St. Pauli