FC St. Pauli

Before the action got underway there was a minute's silence for the victims of the terror attack in Hanau. When the game kicked off, it was the home side who made the better start, dominating the possession and creating several chances early on. Six minutes in, a corner was knocked low into the box and Pohjanpalo stepped over it, allowing Hunt to pull the trigger from 14 metres. Thankfully, the ball cleared the crossbar by some distance. The HSV captain was in the spotlight again moments later when his shot came back off the underside of the bar. Louis Schaub then put the rebound just over. Dieter Hecking's side kept up the pressure and when Bakery Jatta cut the ball back from the byeline, Pohjanpalo saw his effort clip the outside of the post on its way out.

The Boys in Brown launched their opening foray of the game with 14 minutes gone. Henk Veerman exchanged passes with Diamantakos before charging down the right and delivering a ball into the box back towards Diamantakos. The cross lacked precision but almost sneaked in at the back post. The raucous atmosphere quietened down after Robin Himmelmann had safely gathered Sonny Kittel's effort from a narrow angle. But not for long. Because soon the 5,586 travelling St. Pauli fans were celebrating the opening goal!

Ryo Miyaichi intercepted a square ball on the halfway line and the ball fell for Veerman. The Dutchman picked up the pace and shrugged off the challenge of his compatriot Rick van Drongelen before showing all his quality on arriving in the box, dinking the ball over the onrushing Daniel Heuer Fernandes and into the far corner to give his side the lead. Just nine minutes later, the Boys in Brown made it two! Miyaichi cut the ball back from the right to Finn Ole Becker. His shot was blocked, but the rebound fell kindly for Matt Penney. The Englishman teed the ball up before hammering a shot into the bottom right corner from 22 metre. Heuer Fernandes dived to his left but there was nothing he could do to stop it – 2-0!

The Boys in Brown kept at it and soon fashioned another opening, Becker finding space in the box to lash a shot over the top. That was to prove his final intervention in the game, however, as he was soon replaced by Marvin Knoll. The home side then sought to hit back through Hunt, but Schaub lacked the necessary height to direct the cross on target with his header. A few minutes later Hunt received the ball again from a corner, this time he went for goal himself but shot wide. Jatta went much closer on the stroke of half-time, however. His angled shot from the corner of the box zipped a whisker past the far post.

Henk Veerman celebrates in front of the travelling fans after opening the scoring.

Both teams emerged unchanged for the second half. HSV came out looking for an early goal to reduce the deficit and switched on the turbo. Luhukay's charges defended tenaciously, however, and weren't averse to getting forward themselves, as in the 51^st minute, when Penney found Knoll with a pinpoint cross from the left. His header was somehow turned over the bar by a superb reflex save from Heuer Fernandes to keep it at 2-0.

The home side continued to carry a threat, though, and Kittel forced his way down the left and knocked a cross into the middle to Pohjanpalo. Fortunately, the Finnish striker failed to make a proper contact and the Boys in Brown were able to clear their lines. At the other end, Knoll again came close to adding a third with a long-range free-kick on 57. The ball curled just past the angle. Hecking responded with a double substitution, throwing on Martin Harnik and David Kinsombi for Hunt and Kittel.

Jos Luhukay's stayed solid at the back, allowing the home side little space in which to put pressure on Himmelmann's goal. Then, with 67 minutes gone, Rico Benatelli thought he had made it three-nil with a header from the penalty spot following a corner. But after consulting the VAR, referee Manuel Gräfe ruled the goal out.

HSV came again two minutes later, but Himmelmann comfortably gathered a shot on the turn from Schaub. Hecking then made his third and final substitution on 71, introducing another striker in Lukas Hinterseer. The pattern remained the same, however, with the Boys in Brown continuing to stifle the home side's attacking ambitions and defending their two-goal advantage with bags of fighting spirit and passion to ensure a repeat of the scenes after the 2-0 win in the first meeting of the two sides at the Millerntor. Unbridled celebrations!!!

As well completing the double, the Boys in Brown ended a run of 357 days without a win away from home on Saturday afternoon. Their last away victory was a 1-0 success at Paderborn on 2 March 2019.

HSV

Heuer Fernandes - Beyer, Letschert, van Drongelen, Leibold - Hunt (Kinsombi 62'), Jung, Schaub - Jatta (Hinterseer 71'), Kittel (Harnik 62'), Pohjanpalo

Head coach: Dieter Hecking

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann - Ohlsson, Østigård, Buballa - Miyaichi, Benatelli, Sobota (Flum 90'), Becker (Knoll 34'), Penney - Diamantakos (Tashchy 87') - Veerman

Head coach: Jos Luhukay

Goals: 0-1 Veerman (20'), 0-2 Penney (29')

Yellow cards: Diamantakos, Ohlsson, Veerman

Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)

Attendance: 57,000 (sold out)

Photos: Witters