In their third home game of the season, FC St. Pauli failed to score at their home stadium, Millerntor. A few individual errors allowed their opponents Mainz 05 to easily steal three points.
The game systems were known before the match on the 6th Bundesliga matchday - both teams try to stand well at the back and use quick transition moments up front. Both teams have been very successful away from home recently. Mainz won in Augsburg and St. Pauli in Freiburg.
With this kind of game, it is always important not to fall behind early. You don't need a coaching license to know this. Unfortunately, the brown and white team suffered two goals in the first quarter of an hour and in the Bundesliga the score is 0:2. That means the game is over before it has even really started.
In both situations, the otherwise good Eric Smith doesn't look good. On the first goal, he loses sight of his opponent, who then surprises Nikola Vasilj in the FC St. Pauli goal with far too much space. On the second goal, Eric Smith plays the ball directly into the opponent's legs during the build-up play. On the last goal of the evening, Eric Smith is also unable to follow his opponent Jonathan Burkardt, who skilfully finishes into the far corner.
Player bashing is not my thing at all, so please don't misunderstand the last paragraph. You win and lose as a team. But if key players have a bad day, that's not helpful.
Mainz did it just as cleverly as our Hamburg team did in their last game in Freiburg: staying deep in the back and blocking everything that could come towards the goal. And yet Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner had to intervene a few times, at least in the first half. That speaks for the efforts of FC St. Pauli to have Song 2 played in the stadium. They were also lacking a little luck that evening.
Referee Dingert had little luck in his decision to give Kohr, who is known for his robust playing skills, a yellow card in time to protect his opponent Elias Saad. Kohr only received the yellow card in the 88th minute when he tackled Saad, sending him to hospital. Roughly 50 minutes earlier would have been the right time. Get well soon, Elias Saad!
For me, this is a good opportunity to show how difficult it can be to photograph foul play. Everything happens in a fraction of a second. The image of the pain often only appears when the camera is next released. Like here, for example.
You see the actual foul play a few thousandths earlier:
To avoid any misunderstandings here: the referee did not lose the game for FC St. Pauli. But at least he could have protected the health of the players better. Millernton sees it the same way.
So, next weekend is all about the 17th international tournament of the newly crowned German blind football champions. I can only warmly recommend a visit to Borgweg. The blind football team of FC St. Pauli will face the teams of AC Crema and Avoy MU Brno as well as the SF Blau-Gelb blista Marburg blind football, against whom our players won the German championship title. For the first time, a women's blind football tournament will also be held there. The teams competing are the Austrian national team, CDC Málaga and the women's blind football team of FC St. Pauli. It's definitely worth stopping by! Entry is free.