Matchday 20 Recap: FC St. Pauli 3 - 2 1. FC Union Berlin

St. Pauli: Himmelmann; Buballa, Kalla, Avevor, Carstens; Knoll, Flum; Allagui (Buchtmann), Daehli (Miyaichi), Sobota; Meier (Schneider)

Union Berlin: Gikiewicz; Ryerson (Taz), Friedrich, Hübner, Lenz; Kroos, Prömel, Schmiedebach (Abdullahi); Mane (Gogia), Hartel, Andersson

Goals:

St. Pauli: Allagui - 23; Meier - 62, 90+4
Union Berlin: Prömel - 84; Abdullahi - 86 

I blame the white jerseys. Source: Express

Well, that game went from being one of the most remarkable comebacks of the season to one of the most heartbreaking defeats in the span of under ten minutes. Indeed, so much went on during Union Berlin’s trip to Hamburg to take on St. Pauli -- Golazos! Late comebacks! Even later penalties! Awesome fans! -- that one could easily imagine seeing this match in a sports encyclopedia as Exhibit A under 2. Bundesliga. After all, the match epitomized almost everything that makes the 2. Bundesliga one of the wildest, closest, most unpredictable leagues in the world (and also the one most likely to take years off my life).

Yet despite Union missing out on an important chance to gain ground on another promotion rival, there are definitely positives to be taken from their trip to the Millerntor. The mental strength that the team showed to score two goals in just as many minutes in the dying moments of the game is not to be shrugged at. While it didn’t get them the result on Monday, the mentality Urs Fischer has imbued in this Union Berlin squad promises to keep them in a position to continue challenging the teams at the top of the table.

Thanks to Ken Reichel’s red card against Koln and Christopher Trimmel’s accumulation of yellows, both full backs were left out of the Union Berlin squad that traveled to Hamburg. Instead, back-up left back Christopher Lenz (for Reichel) and Julian Ryerson (for Trimmel) started. Both young full backs are deserving of more playing time, but needless to say, away to St. Pauli would not have been my first choice for either of them.

In addition to Lenz and Ryerson, Fischer made two additional changes to the team that beat Koln last Thursday: Sebastian Andersson came in up top for injured Sebastian Polter, and new signing Carlos Mané (acquired on loan from Sporting Lisbon for the remainder of the season, with an option to make the move permanent) stepped in on the wing for Suleiman Abdullahi and immediately impressed.

At only 5’7’’, Mané might not have Abdullahi’s height, which has definitely been an asset on the wing this season, but he slotted right into the starting 11 and played as though he had been in the squad for months, not days. He thought fast on his feet and was absolutely fearless, not at all intimidated by the boisterous atmosphere at the Millerntor. (To be fair, the away support from Berlin also made themselves heard for the entirety of the match.)

Union had the vast majority of the possession in the game, which usually does not bode well for their counterattack-focused style of play. And indeed, it was St. Pauli who struck first, with midfielder Sami Allagui scoring an absolute banger from distance that even Gikiewicz couldn’t quite manage to get a hand on. It’s the kind of goal that’s so nice to look at that it’s hard to be mad about it when it’s scored on you. Nonetheless, I was still mad.

Union continued to battle away for the rest of the first half but they were unable to find an equalizer before halftime. Felix Kroos, in particular, seemed possessed by a desire to score and had many decent chances; perhaps once again having the captain’s armband in his possession in Trimmel’s absence gave him an extra boost of firepower. Yet it was St. Pauli who found the back of the net again shortly after the hour mark thanks to a set piece finished by 36-year-old forward Alex Meier, who had just returned to his former club in January after 14 fruitful years at Eintracht Frankfurt (336 appearances, 119 goals).

Urs Fischer responded by making two subs in quick succession: Abdullahi came on for Schmiedebach while Gogia came in for Mané. The third and final sub was a pleasant enough surprise for Union fans: 20-year-old attacking midfielder Berkan Taz made his senior debut for the club, coming in for Ryerson. Taz impressed with his spirited play, taking a shot on goal almost immediately after coming on.

Whether it was the extra burst of energy provided by Taz coming onto the pitch, St. Pauli finally starting to get worn down by Union’s dogged play, or a combination of both, Union finally managed to break through in the 84th minute. Grischa Prömel scored his fourth goal of the season off an assist from Sebastian Andersson and put the team back in it. The question was, would there be enough time for another?

We didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as Abdullahi scored another in the 86th minute. You could practically hear the Union fans around the world screaming in front of their streams. It was a remarkable comeback that very nearly secured an extremely valuable away point for Union.

Who would’ve thought that an 86th-minute comeback would actually be too early in the game? Turns out, it was. It left plenty of time for Union to concede a penalty in extra time, one that was put away cool as you like by Meier. The returning hero had a brace in his first home game back in St. Pauli shirt. A nice story for him, to be sure, but an utterly disappointing one for Union.

Up next is a home game against cellar-dwelling Sandhausen. A win would be a perfect way to bounce back.