FC St. Pauli earned its first point in the still young 2024/25 Bundesliga season against the Champions League participant from Leipzig. It would have been even more if there had been a little more luck or a little less Gulacsi in the final.
Despite all the euphoria about the remarkable fighting spirit of the FC St. Pauli players, it must also be said that Leipzig did not have its best day and the team simply has not yet played well together. And it is also true that most of the boys in brown and white were pretty much out of energy after roughly 75 minutes. It was certainly helpful that the atmosphere at the Millerntor gave them a little boost. In injury time, Jackson Irvine played a sensational pass into open space to Scott Banks, who could have rocked the stadium with a little more precision.
We definitely need to build on this performance. Let's hope that the team will continue to give us this wonderful, intense football with quick transitions.
Before the game there was a wonderful warm-up. The blind footballers from FC St. Pauli played after 2022 became German champions for the fourth time and were celebrated extensively during a round of the stadium. Anyone who wants to see the champions in an international tournament in Hamburg should mark the weekend of October 12th and 13th in their calendar. Then the 17th edition of the Masters tournament "keep your mind wide open" will take place on Borgweg.
I had a brief moment of shock while cheering for the blind footballers. A ricochet from shooting practice hit me so badly on the head while I was photographing the champions in front of the South Stand that my glasses flew in one direction and one lens in the other. Of course, the lens from the eye I was taking the photo with landed on the stadium floor. Fortunately, nobody stepped on the glasses and lens in the commotion, so I was able to put them back together again. (Addendum: here is a nice video of the celebration. At 1:23min I appear briefly, looking happy, and at 5:08min you can see the ball that shoots the glasses off my head.)
Without the luck I just described, I probably wouldn't have been able to create the following pictures.
This means that Leipzig has not won against FC St. Pauli for 10 years. The last time as Leipzig at the Millerntor are already a few years ago. Everything else then at Millernton...
Next weekend, the Boys in Brown will play against third-placed Freiburg. They will need at least a similar effort to earn another point.
It would have been a shame if you hadn't been able to take these great pictures.
Hippo in front of the GG, a dream!!
Thank you!