Home game against Gladbach
Late ecstasy: Dream goal shortly before the end saves St. Pauli
Updated on April 6th, 2025 – 5:27 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
For a long time it looked as if Gladbach was taking a victory from Hamburg despite weak performance. But shortly before the end the doorbell rang in the goal.
A remarkable shot from the second row redeemed FC St. Pauli against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Oladapo Afolayan fired the ball into the opposing goal, which meant the important 1-1 equalization. St. Pauli had previously left a variety of chances. The Gladbach lead had achieved central defender Kō ItaKura in added time in the first half.
In the table, Gladbach is now in sixth place with 44 points after 28 match days. FC St. Pauli remains 15th, but now has four points ahead of relegation place 16.
There was nothing to see from a playful Gladbach superiority at the beginning. On the contrary: the problem child St. Pauli (just a victory from the last eight games) heated up the Bundesliga team of the hour with a high pressing. After four minutes, Danel Sinani failed with the first good chance of Tiago Pereira Cardoso, who again guarded the Borussia goal in the absence of the injured Moritz Nicolas and Jonas Omlin.
His front people also tumbled through the game without any ideas. The Hamburgers, with the chance of an extremely important home win, remained the more dangerous team: Elias Saad missed the deserved leadership from a short distance (30th) after bustle in the penalty area.
When everything in the stadium already smelled of a break draw of manageable attractiveness, the passengers of the Ferris wheel on the adjacent Hamburg spring cathedral were given something countable when looking at the lawn. After a corner, ItaKura used the sleepiness of the St. Pauli defensive with a careless header to the flattering leadership of the European Cup candidate.
The hosts were not put off by the bitter game. Shortly after the change of sides, Sinani again checked the strong Pereira Cardoso (49.); The game that St. Pauli continued to dominate now really picked up speed. Saad had two more chances after a good hour, but the spell could not break. Gladbach, which got a lot to do on the defensive, ran out offensive to counter, but lacked the necessary determination. Then Afolayan struck.