FC St. Pauli

Lienen made four changes to the team that drew 1-1 with Nürnberg last time out. Marc Hornschuh deputised for the suspended Bernd Nehrig in defensive midfield, while Kyoungrok Choi replaced Ryo Miyaichi, who was ruled out by the after-effects of concussion. Maurice Litka came in for Waldemar Sobota, and up front Fafa Picault made his first start in a while in place of Ducksch. 

Both sides got out of the blocks very quickly. Nejmeddin Daghfous tested Robin Himmelmann with a shot from distance in the third minute, but the St. Pauli keeper had no problems gathering the ball. Sixty seconds later the Boys in Brown went much closer at the other end. Christopher Buchtmann spotted a gap and slipped the ball through to Litka in the channel. Picault narrowly failed to connect with his whipped-in cross but at the back post Choi unleashed a first-time effort that flew just past the right-hand upright. A promising start, then, by a combative St. Pauli side who sought to get the ball forward quickly on winning possession. 

The home side were also wide awake, however, and with nine minutes on the clock they hit back with an outstanding opportunity of their own. Daghfous somehow hooked the ball across the face of the goal towards the onrushing Rico Benatelli, and his header crashed against the crossbar. At the other end Würzburg will also have taken a deep breath on 13 when Christopher Avevor headed a Buchtmann corner narrowly wide. 

After a brief lull in the action the home side advanced through the St. Pauli midfield with some fine passing play and Vegar Hedenstad had to step in at the far post to deny Anastasios Lagos. Würzburg stepped up the pressure and had several dangerous attempts on Himmelmann's goal. Fortunately, the ball either flew straight at the keeper or drifted off target. 

The Boys in Brown eventually succeeded in calming things down somewhat, though the travelling supporters will have looked on nervously when Himmelmann raced out of his goal to grab the ball, only to collide with Avevor, who went down looking dazed. After a brief spell of treatment, the defender was able to continue. 

Würzburg threatened again just before the break. Sascha Traut's cross was too long, but Daghfous recovered the ball and tried his luck from distance. His effort cleared the crossbar and the referee blew for half-time. 

Avevor failed to return after the interval and was replaced by Sören Gonther in a straight swap in central defence. Unlike in the first half, both sides took a while to get going, with the Boys in Brown content to focus on keeping a tight ship at the back. 

A lapse in concentration in the heart of defence presented Würzburg with the first opportunity after the restart on 63 minutes. Daghfous created some space with a neat turn on the edge of the penalty box and hit a fierce shot that drew a wonderful save from Himmelmann with the crowd almost out of their seats. The home side had turned on the turbo midway through the first half and they did the same thing in the second. Lienen's side held their own, however, in a second-half display characterised by fight and passion. They were driven on in their endeavours by the unremitting support of more than 1,500 fans from Hamburg. 

In the 76th minute Lasse Sobiech showed great desire to launch a counterattack that almost saw the Boys in Brown open the scoring. The St. Pauli captain won the ball and played it to substitute Joel Keller. His cross took a deflection and almost landed at the feet of Picault at the far post, but Wulnikowski got there just before him to defuse the danger. Keller was in the thick of things again two minutes later, pulling the trigger from 20 metres on the left-hand side. Once again, however, the Würzburg keeper was on hand to collect the left-foot drive. 

Lienen rolled the dice a final time eight minutes from time with the introduction of Marvin Ducksch for Picault in the centre of attack. Yet before Ducksch had had a chance to make a mark, the Boys in Brown suffered a devastating blow on 84. When the home side forced their way into the box it looked as if the danger had passed, but then Brian Koglin's attempted clearance struck Hedenstad and the ball rebounded into the net. Unbelievable. 

In the closing stages the Boys in Brown threw everything at the deficit, launching the ball forward towards Sören Gonther, who had moved up into the attack. The home side stood firm, however, and referee Guido Winkmann blew his whistle at the end of three minutes of stoppage time to condemn Lienen's side to a bitterly disappointing defeat.

FC St. Pauli  

Himmelmann – Hedenstad, Sobiech, Avevor (Gonther 46'), Koglin– Hornschuh – Sahin, Choi, Buchtmann, Litka (Keller 61') – Picault (Ducksch 82') 

Head coach: Ewald Lienen 

Kickers Würzburg  

Wulnikowski -  Weil, Pisot, Neumann, Kurzweg – Schröck, Lagosn (Taffertshofer 56') – Daghous, Benatelli, Junior Diaz – Soriano (Königs 89') 

Head coach: Bernd Hollerbach 

Goals: 1-0 Hedenstad (o.g. 84')  

Yellow cards: Diaz - Sahin, Sobiech, Keller  

Referee: Guido Winkmann  

Attendance: 13,080 (sold out) 

Photo: Peter Böhmer