HSV lay siege to the derby and let St. Pauli off the hook
Hamburger SV dominated this city derby from first whistle to last but had to settle for a 1-1 draw as a half-time substitute punished them.
Who wins the Hamburg derby when one side throws everything at the goal and the other barely crosses halfway? Not HSV, that is who.
Our preview called it: HSV on the up, St. Pauli sinking. For 82 minutes it looked exactly right. HSV had 61 per cent of the ball, 17 shots to St. Pauli's three, and three clear-cut chances. St. Pauli had nothing but sweat and Onur Turhan's clearances.
The breakthrough came on 65 minutes. Rafael Vázquez, who ran 13.5 kilometres and never stopped asking for it, finally put the ball in. Zak Galbraith made it — one assist, seven interceptions, 84 passes out of 87. The man was everywhere.
Then the game turned on a substitution. Elias Scholz came on at half-time for Marco Niemeyer, and on 83 minutes he scored. One shot on target all afternoon for St. Pauli, one goal. Solomon Mensah, who had carried them, set it up. That is the derby for you: the side that does the work does not always get the reward.
Our preview worried about Da Silva on HSV's right. He was not in the squad at all, and Daniel Corgozinho filled in with 13 kilometres of his own. We flagged St. Pauli's shortage without the injured Yoel Amar, and the first hour showed it plainly. We expected a 4-4-2 from HSV and a 4-2-3-1 from St. Pauli. Both came as billed.
What it means: HSV stay unbeaten, but two points slip away. St. Pauli end their winless run the hard way. In-Sung Han and Neizan Pestano had five shots each and nothing to show. That is the story of the afternoon.