FC St. Pauli: Game ideas there, but there is no goal in Berlin

FC St. Pauli: Game ideas there, but there is no goal in Berlin

After the disappointing defeat against 1. FC Union Berlin, FC St. Pauli has to take a painful balance in the previous season. With two defeats from two games, the team starts with zero points and a worrying goal difference in the new Bundesliga season. The appearance on Sunday in Berlin was characterized by a certain superiority in the building of the game, but there was a lack of the necessary punch in front of the goal.

FC St. Pauli started the game in a repeated 3-5-2 formation that was already used in the opening game against Heidenheim. While the players showed some promising approaches in their game, the hit rate remained sobering on the offensive. It was not due to the basic ideas; The implementation was simply not precisely enough. A central deficiency was the lack of calm on the ball, which meant that the players often lost the ball quickly in the last third.

promising approaches, little fruit

The initial phase showed that St. Pauli was able to put Union Berlin under pressure. With variable moves, the team tried to crack the opponent's defense. Players like Irvine and Smith cleverly changed positions to create more flexibility. Smith, who often pushed onto the offensive, enabled a numerical surcharge in the last line, which gave the game of St. Pauli a strategic advantage, but did not cause the hoped -for change change.

Despite an increased active playing style, St. Pauli was not able to record a single serious shot in the first half hour. On the other hand, the home team from Berlin was also not particularly creative, but they were finally able to take the lead through individual mistakes from the FCSP. A corner kick meant that the Berlin Hollerbach came to the end in the 41st minute and sank the ball on the net.

injury problem and changes

Another setback for FC St. Pauli was the injury to Eric Smith, who had to get off the square in the 44th minute with an apparently painful groin injury. This Situation not only hurt the team, but also restricted tactical flexibility. It seemed as if the team had lost the defensive stability after the deficit, and Union could easily penetrate their own third.

After the break, coach Alexander Blessin decided to make changes by changing players like Afolayan and Saad to bring a breath of fresh air into the game. This switch to a 3-4-3 made it possible to go to the poultry more aggressive and thus exert more pressure on the Berlin defensive. And indeed: St. Pauli achieved a certain dominance and was finally able to generate more chances, but they mostly failed because of the inability to carry the ball into the goal precisely.

Although the number of scores of FC St. Pauli rose in the second half, the XG value remained sobering at 0.5. The new orientation showed effects, unfortunately without the desired goal. Despite all the efforts and a noticeable increase, the team could no longer compensate for the gap.

The disillusionment after the game was omnipresent. Blessin commented on the difficult mood in the team and the dissatisfaction with the past appearances. Both games would have given up more than the team could actually implement. Only that counts now: point gain is needed, quickly so that the season does not get out of hand in the initial phase.