Super phase against Bundesliga crisis – it is well known that this does not have to play a role in the DFB Cup. FC St. Pauli proved this against Borussia Mönchengladbach when the guests ended their series of defeats with a 2-1 (1-0) win. The man of the day in the round of 16 was not only Louis Oppie because of his winning goal in the 83rd minute.
In the Bundesliga, the two clubs are currently worlds apart. Gladbach is one of the teams of the moment with ten points from the last four games, while St. Pauli is on a permanent downward trend with nine defeats in a row.
The cup played a special role in these two series, progressing against Karlsruher SC (3:1) ended the previous crisis at Borussia, while Hamburg had a nice change from the gray everyday life of the league against TSG Hoffenheim (8:7 on penalties).
“We didn’t really get into the rhythm,” said Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski after the game. “This is of course a disappointment, but we want to draw something positive from it.”
Gladbach with the first chance, St. Pauli plays well
After the appearance at the weekend at FC Bayern Munich (1:3 after conceding two goals shortly before the end) may have given the guests courage, they appeared correspondingly brave. St. Pauli keeper Nikola Vasilj was the first to have to parry a long-range shot from Kevin Stöger (11th minute), but then Martijn Kaars missed a bigger opportunity when he shot from ten meters out of place right at Moritz Nicolas (13th).
Coach Alexander Blessin’s team had other promising attacks and did a lot of things well – but that didn’t apply to the decision-making in the opponent’s penalty area. The best example was a strong attack that ended with an inaccurate cross from Oppie right between his two colleagues (21′).
Stöger misses twice, then Kaars scores for the first time
But Gladbach also had dangerous moments, a lot of it went on the right side, where Franck Honorat spun and delivered strong crosses – but most of it went when the ball fell to Stöger in the penalty area. The midfielder scored twice from twelve meters, both attempts had what it took to score the first goal of the evening, but they were both blocked by a defender at the last moment (24th).
After that, almost nothing happened – but shortly before half-time, St. Pauli finished an attack. Kaars was sent after winning the ball high, delayed so that he let two Gladbach players miss, and then he deliberately pushed it into the goal for a certainly not undeserved lead (44th). The fact that the two teams had met in Hamburg just a month earlier and St. Pauli had received a 4-0 defeat was not even noticeable at that point.
Gladbach’s Tabakovic is there again
There was also no sign of Gladbacher Hoch – until the 56th minute. Then Honorat took off and received the long pass, after which the right winger, exceptionally, served it perfectly to Tabakovic’s head from the left side with his left foot. The Swiss had already met St. Pauli twice in the league, and now Tim Kleindienst’s representative, who was back on the bench after his serious injury, was successful for the sixth time in the last six games.
The guests weren’t too impressed by this, they still had the better playing facilities. But Oppie missed the good opportunity to take the lead again, the left-back only shot into the side netting (63′). But the chance was even better for Jackson Irvine, who didn’t hit the ball fully from eleven meters, which is why Nicolas was able to save (74′).
Oppie excels on both sides
Gladbach also worked on the late decision, but Oppie took away Tabakovic’s foot with a strong tackle at the last moment to make it 2-1 (79′). First the 23-year-old was the hero on defense – and a few minutes later on offense. Once again Oppie put himself in a dangerous position, faked the shot with his strong foot, put the ball on his right and surprised Nicolas in the near corner (83′).
“It feels very good to have a sense of success with the team again. It’s also nice that I was personally involved,” said a happy Oppie after the game.
The former Bielefeld player was the match winner because the Gladbach team could no longer recover from his goal, Vasilj defused Rocco Reitz’s last chance (90th + 3).
St. Pauli celebrated in Borussia Park and can not only look forward to the draw for the quarter-finals on Sunday, but will also boldly attempt to experience another moment of joy in the league the day before at 1. FC Köln (3:30 p.m.). Gladbach, on the other hand, wants to at least somewhat forget their cup frustration on Friday at Mainz 05 (8:30 p.m.).