BUNDESLIGA PLAYER RATINGS | Hamburger SV 0-2 St.Pauli | OneFootball

Seven years in the making – Bundesliga football returns to the Volksparkstadion with the Hamburg derby between Hamburger SV and St.Pauli.

Both teams drew last weekend against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund.

The visitors from the St.Pauli district of Hamburg were the better side for much of the first half. HSV started off brightly, but St.Pauli then grew into the game and opened the scoring relatively early on from a short corner routine, which was converted by Adam Dzwigala.

Hamburg were then lucky that the visitors did not go two in front, as a potentially valid opportunity and goal was called back for a foul. St.Pauli had another good chance later in the half, which forced a good save from Daniel Heuer Fernandes.

The hosts thought they were immediately back in the game after half-time when Ransford Königsdörffer was played through and was able to slot the ball past Nikolas Vasilj, but the Ghanaian was just offside in the process, meaning Hamburg’s first goal back in the Bundesliga was ruled out, and they would have to wait longer. Apart from that chance, HSV struggled to challenge St.Pauli’s goal, and when Yussuf Poulsen was subbed on, they were unable to provide him with the necessary service, while Jean-Luc Dompé was also quiet, especially compared to last weekend against Gladbach.

St.Pauli would double their lead when Joel Fujita won the ball in midfield and was able to nutmeg a HSV player, before playing through Andreas Hountondji, who rounded Heuer Fernandes to make it 2-0. HSV right-back Giorgi Gocholeishvili would then be sent off for a second yellow card, and the game petered to the end with HSV struggling to create chances.

After the high of last weekend’s result, this is a reality check for Hamburg. While they need to be stable defensively to have a chance of staying in the league, there is clearly a lack of creativity in their attack to allow them to create the necessary goals to do so as well. It is a great comparison for St.Pauli, who were in a similar position last season, but so far, they have been able to play better football this season. Things won’t get easier for HSV either with a trip to Bayern Munich after the international break.

Hamburger SV:

Daniel Heuer Fernandes (5), Warmed Omari (5), Daniel Elfadli (5), Jordan Torunarigha (4), Giorgi Gocholeishvili (3), Nicolas Capaldo (5), Nicolai Remberg (5), Miro Muheim (5), Emir Sahiti (4), Ransford Königsdörffer (6), Alexander Røssing (6)

Others: Yussuf Poulsen (5), Jean-Luc Dompé (5), Otto Stange (5), Rayan Philippe (5), William Mikelbrencis (-)

St.Pauli:

Nikola Vasilj (6), Hauke Wahl (6), Eric Smith (6), Adam Dzwigala (5), Arkadiusz Pyrka (5), James Sands (6), Joel Chima Fujita (7), Louis Oppie (6), Danel Sinani (6), Andreas Hountondji (7), Mathias Pereira Lage (6)

Others: Manolis Saliakas (5), Martijn Kaars (5), Lars Ritzka (-), Connor Metcalfe (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Joel Chima Fujita (7)

The 23-year-old was tireless in the St.Pauli midfield. Fujita showed his quality on both ends of the pitch; not only did he provide the assist for Andreas Hountondji, showing great passing ability, but on the defensive end (via FotMob), he won 100% of his tackles, three interceptions and eight recoveries. Considering he joined St.Pauli for €3.5m, it would not be surprising if he already leaves next summer for a Bundesliga side higher up the food chain.

Hountondji was also impressive. His well-taken goal was his second in two games. With the departure of Nick Woltemade, we Bundesliga fans can now appreciate another giant (190cm) who has an unexpected quality in the fact that he is very quick, and seemingly quite skilful as well. The Burnley loanee looks like the type of striker who could score 12 plus goals this season, and a reliable goalscorer was what St.Pauli were missing last season.

GGFN | Jack Meenan