Late winner at St. Pauli

Match summary

St. Pauli started on the offensive and had the first opportunity of the game in the ninth minute with a long-range effort from Danel Sinani. VfB gradually grew into the contest and had their first chance in the 18^th minute. After a great one-two with Deniz Undav, Nick Woltemade aimed for the left corner from 10 metres, but Nikola Vasilj prevented the goal.

Missed opportunities for VfB

After that it became a hard-fought battle, with Sebastian Hoeneß’s men having the better of the play. On the 30-minute mark, Chris Führich had the next big chance for Stuttgart after brilliant individual work, but his shot from a tight angle sailed wide of the right post. After Undav failed to finish Woltemade’s assist in the 40th minute, the first half ended goalless.

Undav had no joy again shortly after the restart (47’), when his shot towards the right corner narrowly missed the target.

Van der Heyden sent off – Woltemade misses spot-kick

With 57 minutes on the clock, St. Pauli defender Siebe Van der Heyden prevented a potential goal with a handball and was shown his second yellow card. From the subsequent penalty, Woltemade was denied by Vasilj, who clawed the ball away from the right corner.

Woltemade breaks the deadlock

With the man advantage, Stuttgart pushed for the winner. Undav (68’) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (86’) both failed to beat the St. Pauli goalkeeper with good chances. But just as it looked like ending in a 0-0 draw, Woltemade came to VfB’s rescue in the 88th minute.

In a frantic finish to the game, Ermedin Demirovic squandered an opportunity to make it 2-0 in stoppage time, while the hosts were reduced to nine men just before the end when Vasilj was also shown his second yellow.

Goals

88th minute: Demirovic picks out Woltemade in the penalty box, and his low shot from 11 metres nestles into the right corner.