A billiard goal and a duster – Igor Matanovic became the match winner for SC Freiburg against his former club St. Pauli in true “striker style”.
In the 2-1 (0-1) win in Hamburg on matchday 27, the attacker scored a brace in the 65th and 78th minutes for a very important three-pointer in the battle for international business. Daniel Sinani scored 1-0 for St. Pauli in the 24th minute, which remains in the relegation zone due to the defeat.
St. Pauli deserves the 1-0
Freiburg got off to a lively start straight away, Jan-Niklas Beste shot just past the Hamburg goal with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area in the 3rd minute after a strong dribble, heralding a lively opening phase. The hosts were by no means hiding either: Eric Smith’s shot from a promising position after a corner failed a little, so Noah Atubolu had no trouble parrying the attempt from close range (6th). After this turbulent start, things became a little quieter on the pitch, also because both teams lacked the necessary precision in their own offensive game. In the 17th minute, for example, Johan Manzambi lost the ball in front of his own penalty area, but Atubolu saved Joel Fujita’s subsequent long-range shot. Immediately afterwards, his counterpart Nikola Vasilj was able to show off for the first time with a low attempt by Vincenzo Grifo.
Vasilj’s front men were now really good in the encounter and after 24 minutes they were rewarded for a committed performance: Tomoya Ando jumped over Matthias Ginter from a corner and headed the ball in front of the goal, where Sinani poked the ball over the line against a less attentive Freiburger in the second attempt to take the lead, which is now well deserved.
The St. Pauli players celebrate Danel Sinani’s goal (2nd from left)
Freiburg increased the pressure after the break
There was no real response from the guests; despite over 60 percent possession of the ball, Julian Schuster’s team could hardly think of a solution with which they could upset the passionately defending hosts. Only a few seconds before the half-time whistle, the SC once again appeared dangerously in front of the Hamburg goal: After a cross, Ginter was able to finish from a tight angle, then Yuito Suzuki wanted to score, but was blocked at the last second. The score stayed 1-0 until half-time.
Schuster couldn’t be satisfied with his team’s performance and made two changes: Criyque Irie came on for Beste, Philipp Lienhart replaced Bruno Ogbus in defense. The hosts were now a little deeper than in the first half and the guests actually took advantage of this and created more opportunities. A turning shot from Igor Matanovic forced Vasilj to make a good save in the 52nd minute, the goalkeeper from Bosnia-Herzegovina also safely held on to a not at all harmless Ginter shot from the following corner and continued to fill his statistics sheet just 120 seconds later when he also defused Grifo’s long-range shot. The equalizer was in the air, Alexander Blessin’s team acted too passively and was no longer as toxic as in the first 45 minutes.
Billiard goal and dust, Matanovic turns the game around
And the passivity finally took its toll, even if the guests needed a large portion of luck for it: a Grifo shot was deflected so that it hit Matanovic’s thigh – then the previously strong Vasilj, who had been on his way to the other corner, was powerless (65th). The equalizer was now okay despite the lucky result of the goal. Shortly afterwards, Irie scored a header after Vasilj had made another brilliant save, but because the Joker was just offside, the supposed opening goal was canceled out.
In the 78th minute, Vasilj of all people became a tragic figure: the hosts’ best player up to that point was unable to hold on to a harmless shot from Irie and Matanovic took advantage of this to score a brilliantly clean goal – turning the game around. Incidentally, the striker refrained from celebrating for both goals and instead looked apologetically towards the stands – he had played for St. Pauli in his youth for several years. In the final phase, after a courageous sprint, Manzambi missed the chance to make the preliminary decision when he only hit the side netting (86th). Despite all their efforts, St. Pauli no longer had a real chance to equalize. In view of the significant increase in chances in the second half, Breisgauer’s victory was somehow okay, even if both goals required real “striker luck”.
St. Pauli at Union, Freiburg against Bayern
After the international break, St. Pauli will be guests at Union Berlin on Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Freiburg welcomes Bayern Munich on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).
