FC St. Pauli and HSV had an entertaining exchange of blows in the 110th Hamburg city derby – without a winner. League leaders St. Pauli had three points in sight for a long time in the 2-2 (2-0) draw in the second division top game, but HSV showed comeback qualities in the snow at Millerntor. St. Pauli’s lead over its unpopular city rivals remains three points.
St. Pauli’s captain Jackson Irvine quickly shook the neighborhood in the bitter cold with his opening goal (15th minute). A curious own goal from HSV goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes (27th) increased the party atmosphere and made things seemingly clear. But HSV struck back within two minutes in the second half.
First striker Robert Glatzel scored with his eleventh goal of the season (58th), shortly afterwards Immanuel Pherai made it 2-2. Thanks to the draw, St. Pauli remained undefeated in the 15th game of the season, but coach Fabian Hürzeler’s team failed to win the city championship and the fifth home win in the derby in a row. HSV, who have been weak away from home so far, avoided their fourth defeat on a foreign pitch and should not be unhappy with the draw.
Schalke clearly wins the relegation battle
St. Pauli dominated the opening phase from the start in front of 29,153 spectators in the sold-out Millerntorstadion. Irvine’s opening goal from twelve meters from a corner was the result. What happened next should be reflected in every review of the year: After a risky pass from HSV defender Guilherme Ramos, Heuer Fernandes hammered the ball under the crossbar with full force from close range. The fact that the ball had tipped erratically shortly before due to a placement error can at least be seen as a mitigating circumstance.
HSV also had little success offensively until the break. On the increasingly soapy pitch, the guests had more of the game in the second half, but the goal was not preceded by a period of pressure. After a sharp cross from Ignace Van der Brempt, Glatzel pushed the ball over the line. Just two minutes later, Pherai scored from the turn to equalize – and acted like a party crasher in front of 2,500 HSV supporters.
In the second Friday game of the second league, Schalke 04 jumped into a non-relegation spot, at least for the time being. The Gelsenkirchen team won 4-0 (1-0) against VfL Osnabrück and spoiled the debut of their new coach Uwe Koschinat. With 16 points, Schalke is in 15th place, Osnabrück (seven points) is already nine points behind S04.