FC St. Pauli said goodbye to the winter break of the Bundesliga with a win. Thanks to a courageous defensive performance, the promoted team secured a 1-0 win (1-0) at VfB Stuttgart on matchday 15.
Johannes Eggestein scored the goal of the day in the 21st minute. He missed a penalty in the 53rd minute. It was the fourth win of the season for Hamburg, which will definitely keep them above the relegation zone. For VfB it was the first defeat after four competitive game wins in a row. Stuttgart is in the middle of the table.
Hoeneß: “We need a vacation now”
“We have to be honest: we weren’t good at the back, but we also have to look after ourselves up front. We have to be more consistent and determined. We want to play games like this again in the future, but we need a vacation now and have to switch off“said Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß at the Sportschau microphone.
The emotional situation was different at St. Pauli and coach Alexander Blessin: “That was our reward. We’ve often had games against strong opponents where we were praised but then didn’t get anything out of it. It was very close as a team, which is exactly how it should be.“
St. Paulis Eggestein misses and scores
After an even opening minute, FC St. Pauli fired the first warning shot. However, Eggestein’s shot whizzed just past the post (9th minute).
A few minutes later the guests took the lead – with the help of VfB. Anthony Rouault made a major bad pass while building up the game, Angelo Stiller and Jeff Chabot failed to clear the ball together. The ultimate beneficiary was Eggestein, who let Maximilian Mittelstädt get out and scored from close range (21′).
With the lead behind them, St. Pauli retreated into the defensive. And VfB couldn’t find a way through against the densely packed Hamburg team. Although Nick Woltemade (41′) and Ermedin Demirovic (45’+3) had shots, they were repeatedly blocked.
Stefan Grotthoff, Sportschau Bundesliga Highlights, December 21, 2024 5:46 p.m
Stuttgart’s Nübel parries against Eggestein
VfB coach Sebastian Hoeneß reacted at half-time and brought Anrie Chase into the game for the weak Rouault. But that almost backfired. Only six minutes after the restart, Chase cleared Oladapo Afolayan at the corner of the penalty area. Referee Felix Brych pointed to the penalty spot.
Eggestein stepped up and aimed high into the middle of the goal. Alexander Nübel in the VfB goal made the right guess and simply stood there (53′). As a result, St. Pauli retreated back into defense and let VfB run. But as in the first half, Stuttgart barely found a way through. Until the 68th minute, when Enzo Millot finished from a central position but aimed straight at goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
St. Pauli’s Afolayan misses the decision
Ten minutes before the end, Afolayan almost made the decision. During a Hamburg counterattack, he let Yannik Keitel out in a one-on-one, stood free in front of Nübel, but only hit the post (80th).
So it remained a defensive battle for FC St. Pauli. But Hamburg managed to stop allowing VfB any dangerous chances and thus secured the away win.
Stuttgart has to go to Augsburg, St. Pauli welcomes Frankfurt
VfB Stuttgart has to face FC Augsburg on matchday 16 (January 12th, 3:30 p.m.). FC St. Pauli welcomes Eintracht Frankfurt (January 11th, 3:30 p.m.)