FC St. Pauli secured a hard-fought and spectacular victory against 1899 Hoffenheim in the second round of the DFB Cup. Goalkeeper Ben Voll made Hamburg’s success possible with his spectacular saves.
There couldn’t be much more fight, commitment, passion and drama: In the end, FC St. Pauli won spectacularly 8:7 (2:2, 1:1, 1:0) on penalties in the second round of the DFB Cup against 1899 Hoffenheim.
St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll was the man of the evening for Hamburg, who not only saved brilliantly during the game, but also saved Andrej Kramaric’s first penalty and Albian Hajdari’s ninth – that was enough for coach Alexander Blessin’s team to win.
In this thrilling and passionate game, Hoffenheim had the better chances, but St. Pauli fought back with all its might and was able to maintain concentration until the last moment.
Before the penalty shootout, Grischa Prömel (47th) and Andrej Kramaric (107th) scored for the team from Kraichgau, Hauke Wahl had put Hamburg in the lead, Mathias Pereira Lage was able to equalize in the last second of extra time (120+2).
Goal after a few seconds
FC St. Pauli started furiously and spectacularly and overran Hoffenheim. After just twelve seconds, Hamburg won their first corner – and after 50 seconds – this led directly to 1-0 (1st). After James Sands’ header was extended, Wahl was in the right place at the far post and pushed the ball over the goal line from three meters.
It didn’t take Hoffenheim long to digest this setback. 1899 attacker Tim Lemperle had the first big chance to equalize after eight minutes, his header from eight meters missed the Hamburg goal by just centimeters. As a result, the Ilzer team took the initiative and initially determined the game.
Explosive duel
Meanwhile, St. Pauli concentrated primarily on concentrated defensive work and the team repeatedly tried to create further opportunities through quick switching play. The game was played quickly and passionately by both teams, with hardly any breaks.
There were repeated attacks on both sides that were just managed to be cleared up just before they became really dangerous. It was an explosive duel that barely gave the spectators in the Millerntor Stadium time to breathe.
Prömel scores with his head
And as soon as the second half started, the second goal was scored. This time, however, for the other team. Prömel headed in from three meters after a corner from Andrej Kramaric to make it 1-1 for Hoffenheim.
Nothing changed in the intensity of the game. However, more and more errors and inaccurate passes occurred because the strength on both sides was noticeably weakening. There were no big chances to score, even though there were a few promising approaches.
Voll saves at the last second
Although the Hoffenheim team had significantly more possession of the ball, the Hamburg team tried to thwart every attack attempt by the guests as early as possible. And in one of the few Pauli attacks, Mathias Pereira Lage (84th) had the second goal on the foot with an artistic effort and a subsequent lob, but Hoffenheim’s Bernardo saved no less spectacularly right in front of the goal line.
In the last minute of regular time, Ihlas Bebou suddenly appeared alone in front of Voll and had the winning goal on his feet. The Pauli goalkeeper threw himself in front of the Hoffenheim attacker with full effort and fended off the ball. And a few seconds later, when Bebou fired another low shot at the Pauli goal, the goalkeeper was there and made a brilliant save (89′). It remained a draw until the end of regular time.
Questionable penalty, late equalizer
The first half of extra time continued as it had in the previous 90 minutes. Every inch of the space was fought for. Both teams exhausted themselves and really wanted to win. The guests then had the first opportunity: After a long cross from the half field, Wouter Burger (98th) had the lead for Hoffenheim, but his volley landed on the Hamburg crossbar. Afterwards, Hamburg tried again, but they couldn’t get decisively in front of the Hoffenheim goal.
Then there was great excitement. Bazoumana Touré crossed from the left, Sands received the ball on his arm in the penalty area. Referee Dangert decided completely unexpectedly on a penalty – to the dismay of not only everyone involved at FC St. Pauli. The VAR is not yet used in this DFB Cup round. Kramaric safely converted to make it 2-1.
Angry over this decision, Hamburg tried with all their might to equalize in the remaining minutes – and they succeeded. In injury time of the second half, the ball fell to Pereira Lage’s feet after a corner and he converted to make it 2-2.
In the end, the dramatic penalty shootout decided this spectacular game.