Tuesday 12 March 2019

PYROTECHNICS NOT ENOUGH TO HIDE A WOEFUL ST. PAULI PERFORMANCE

PYROTECHNICS NOT ENOUGH TO HIDE

A WOEFUL ST. PAULI PERFORMANCE



St. Pauli 0 - 4 HSV

A brace from Pierre Michel-Lasogga, an addition from Khaled Narey and a rare goal from Douglas Santos were enough to earn the visitors bragging rights in the final derby of the 18/19 campaign. As the atmosphere bubbled on the Südkurve, it was a different story on the pitch. The hosts were simply outplayed by their long-term rivals, having enjoyed a relatively close encounter prior to this, which finished goalless. It was a tough watch from in front of the screen and behind all the flares and colour, a bleak and dreary St. Pauli performance dampened the mood for many. Despite the lack of aggression and bite on the pitch from the boys in brown, it was the pyrotechnics which clouded the Südkurve, adding to the already intense atmosphere filling the Millerntor. As the stop-start game passed by things only got worse for St. Pauli. It was hopeful that the call for half-time would be an eye-opener for those wearing brown, but it was clear that Hamburg weren't going to kill the game at 0-1. Things never really got off the ground for Kauczinski's men, who struggled to find their feet in the middle of the park. Hamburg feasted on the lack of both quality and physical strength in the end, capitalising on a depleted home performance.

I have decided to score the starting XI, with St. Pauli clearly missing their finest creator in Moller-Daehli, it was clear that a creative influence was missing in the heavy loss. Partnering that with the clear instruction to get the ball to the towering Alex Meier, it was never going to be easy to disassemble a well structured Hamburg squad. During the game it was evident that the guests were likely to have won the battle in the middle, with the highly rated Orel Mangala playing alongside a concise Aaron Hunt. Hunt walked off late in the first half, just after striking the crossbar with a free-kick, assisting Lasogga who was most alert. Mangala was the hub of a strong Hamburg squad, keeping things ticking in midfield. The boys in brown never really challenged their rivals as they found it hard to break a solidified back-line. Due to the lack of creativity and vision, St. Pauli couldn't resist the urge to pump the ball up to Meier and occasionally try and swing a cross into the crowded box. I may have criticised more than some may deem fair, but on such a big occasion there was the need for a hard-hitting and intense performance from certain individuals, it never came. In a fixture which asked a lot from the players you can see what I took from one of the most highly anticipated fixtures in European football:

Himmelmann (5.0 Rating) - St. Pauli's first choice goalkeeper didn't really have to do much other than pick the ball out of his net four times. Neither of the goals conceded could have had the finger pointed at him. 

Kalla (3.9 Rating) - The captain really struggled to get into the game from the opening whistle. A handful of poor crosses and the failure to keep up with Bakery Jatta (Who came on for the struggling Hunt) also allowed Brazilian full-back Santos to sneak forward on occasion. A poor performance from the skipper, despite a rocket of a strike from distance with twenty minutes to go, it didn't really trouble Julian Pollersbeck who guarded Hamburg's net well.

Avevor (5.5 Rating)  - Strong and in a tough battle with Lasogga, the 27-year-old battled firm. Winning balls both aerially and on the ground, the centre-back throughout the ninety minutes had a good game compared to a few of his teammates.

Hoogma (4.6 Rating) - The Hoffenheim loanee had a difficult game. His biggest appearance to date in the brown shirt, the centre-back gave away the free-kick which lead to Hamburg's first goal and in general struggled to stay afloat, playing against such a heavily loaded attack.

Buballa (3.6 Rating) - St. Pauli's all-so-reliable full-back had a pretty poor performance. Too many times the 29-year-old threw away possession and lost the ball in crucial areas. Passing way off and lacking in confidence, Buballa never seemed to settle and was significantly off-pace compared to his usual quality.

Knoll (4.4 Rating) - The fan-favourite would have hoped to had a massive game in the derby. He got caught out of position on a handful of occasions and didn't follow runners. A few of Knoll's crosses were also disappointing taking into account his magnificent left foot, many not clearing the first man. A tough role in the game, against strong opposition, left the bearded sentinel looking uncomfortable.

Buchtmann (6.4 Rating) - Buchtmann welcomed Hunt into the game with just twenty seconds on the clock. The number 10 crashed into his opponent early on and fought hard throughout the ninety minutes. He linked well with Neudecker and Allagui at times and showed grit and bite in a squad who seemingly lacked it.

Miyaichi (5.4 Rating) - Despite the Japanese winger's palm-stinger of a strike, Miyaichi really didn't have the physicality for this game. His fourty-sixth minute rocket forcing a wonder-save from Pollersbeck. Santos suppressed pretty much every attempt on the right side wherever Miyaichi pressed.

Neudecker 5.8 Rating) - The youngster had a similar quality game to Buchtmann. Mainly consisting of shorter passes in the centre of the pitch, his performance wasn't spectacular by all means. I struggled to identify any real key moments of quality for the midfielder, never a good sign in such an important game.

Allagui (6.7 Rating) - The Tunisian forward worked hard, defending and applying pressure on both David Bates and Rick van Drongelen. Alllagui looked extremely frustrated in the early stages of the game, and understandably so. He had spells where he held up the ball well and with what he was offered, tried to create.

Meier (6.9 Rating)  - In my opinion the fußballgott was the best player in a brown jersey. A very typical Meier performance consisting of good hold-up play and spreading of the ball. He won numerous headers against an aggressive van Drongelen and Bates partnership. With the very little he was offered by his teammates, Meier tried to force effective football which just wasn't going to happen.

Schneider - N/A*
Sobota - N/A*
Flum - N/A*

*Too little game time to give an accurate scoring, or didn't impact the game enough to warrant rating.

In all honesty, it was a really tough game to try and assess individual players. I really wanted to celebrate a handful of wholehearted St. Pauli performances, but sadly most underachieved. Along with the tasty atmosphere and display from both sets of fans, what happened on the pitch was at times put to one side. Hamburg made St. Pauli look poor, and St. Pauli made themselves look even worse. Not the feast of a derby everyone was expecting and I'm sure the visitors we're relieved to see such lack of retaliation. Was it the lack of someone like Moller-Daehli (unassailable for selection due to injury) which could have sparked some creativity? Or was it just poor tactical planning from Kauczinski? The visitors walked away victorious, with the scoreline being the cherry on top of their cake.


A Sunday which St. Pauli fans will want to forget. It won't take long for the players to recover, but the supporters of Hamburg's blue side will be reminding their rivals at every opportunity of this scoreline. Those unfortunate enough to witness such a heavy defeat will hope for a chance next season to reclaim such a prestigious . With Hamburg straining to return to the Bundesliga, it could be a while before revenge can be planned. 



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