The boys couldn't believe their eyes, how did the Irish ref get back so quickly form New Zealand to officiate this palaver.St. Pauli 1 Fortuna Düsseldorf 3
Fortuna Düsseldorf stay within a point of league leaders Greuther Fürth at the expense of ten-man St. Pauli courtesy of an emphatic 3-1 win in the Millerntor that left the home side stunned come the final whistle.
It was a match for the football romantics that boasted goals, controversy, plenty of action and most importantly a stunning atmosphere. Max Kruse opened the scoring for Pauli, but the hosts never truly recovered from Andreas Lambertz's stunning strike just before the break. Lambertz added to his tally early in the second half ahead of Markus Thorandt's sending off as it was left to the lively Maximilian Beister to wrap up the win with a sparkling solo effort.
Pauli pressure pays off
The players came out to an electric atmosphere in the Millerntor and with the fans waving their sparklers on a brisk evening in Hamburg, it didn't take long for the match to spark into life. Both sides were moving the ball forward aggressively early on and while Pauli were enjoying the lion's share of possession, Düsseldorf looked dangerous in transition. With the hosts threatening they had to rely on a slice of luck to take the lead just past the quarter hour mark.
Sebastian Schachten found Fin Bartels in the box whose back heel set-up Kruse for a powerful first time shot, which, despite being straight at him, Michael Ratajczak could only help into his own net (16'). Tomas Rösler went in search of an immediate response, but Philipp Tschauner was equal to the effort as the game slowed considerably with both sides cancelling each other out in the middle of the park.
Düsseldorf dig deep
With both teams not afraid of being physical, the game became scrappier with every passing minute as Pauli packed out their defence. Maximilian Beister squandered two good opportunities for Düsseldorf, but just before the break the visitors found a goal of the highest quality to equalise. Lambertz wiggled his way past three defenders before driving into space and leathering a long range effort past Tschauner and into the top corner (45 +1'), sending the teams in level at half time.
Pauli survived a scare soon after the restart as Beister and Lambertz combined agin, but there was no one on the end of the final ball, which trickled agonisingly across the six yard box before Pauli could clear. Schachten hit the post at the other end, but it was Fortuna who struck seconds later. On the counter Rösler dragged Pauli's centre backs out of position before playing in Lambertz ghosting through the middle who poked his second of the evening through Tschauner's legs (57').
Chaotic closing stages
A well worked Düsseldorf set-piece had the Hamburg outfit at sixes and sevens in the box and after Tschauner saved Rösler's initial effort there were three Fortuna players on hand to tap home, but the flag was up as the ball hit the back of the net. The visitors were carving Pauli apart with Beister denied by Tschauner once again and it only got worse for the hosts as Thorandt picked up his second yellow for an off the ball elbow to be sent for an early bath (68').
Shambolic defending saw Beister extend the lead, beating three men on the byline to saunter into the six yard box, flicking his shot past the helpless Tschauner (75'). An inspired effort on the volley should have been the youngster's second, but it came back off the crossbar. The woodwork was the star performer in the closing stages as Schindler and Rösler both hit the post, while Fabian Boll's thunderbolt somehow bounced to safety after coming off the underside of the bar in the final action of what had been a thrilling match up until the very last whistle.
James Thorogood
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