FCA drop points in 2-1 defeat at St. Pauli

FC Augsburg travelled to Hamburg to face FC St. Pauli on Bundesliga matchday 3. Despite taking the lead early on, head coach Sandro Wagner's side were left empty-handed as the hosts secured a 2-1 victory.

Wagner made three changes to his starting line-up following the narrow defeat against FC Bayern prior to the international break. New signing Fabian Rieder, Cédric Zesiger and Elvis Rexhbecaj came into the XI in place of Keven Schlotterbeck, Dimitris Giannoulis and Robin Fellhauer (on the bench after recovering from a concussion). 

The hosts came into the match in good form, having taken four points from their first two matches of the season. FCA managed to start brightly, however, with Marius Wolf recording their first shot on target in the second minute of play. Wagner's side won several of their challenges early on, in addition to pressing their opponents hard. They were rewarded for their efforts in the 16th minute as Han-Noah Massengo did well to deliver a ball into the box that was met in the air by Rieder. The Swiss attacker headed in to open the scoring with what was also FCA's 100th headed goal in the Bundesliga. 

Shortly before the break, the referee awarded St. Pauli a questionable corner-kick. The ball then fell to Andréas Hountondji, with his shot hitting Zesiger's outstretched arm from close range. Referee Harm Osmers quickly consulted with the VAR and pointed to the penalty spot. Hountondji's spot-kick was initially saved by Finn Dahmen, but the striker was able to turn in the rebound to equalise (45'). Minutes later, Kristijan Jakić was forced off with an injury, with the midfielder replaced by Robin Fellhauer.

Free kick seals the win for the hosts 

The second half started with Dahmen reacting quickly to deny Mathias Pereira Lage with a well-timed foot save (47'). At the other end, FCA went close twice through a header from Zesiger (56'), followed by a long-range effort from Fellhauer (62'). In the 68th minute, Elias Saad cut inside and tested former teammate  Nikola Vasilj with a well-struck knuckle ball. Wagner then made two changes, with Philip Tietz and Alexis Claude-Maurice entering the fray. The Frenchman was therefore able to make his return from an ankle injury. 

The 77th minute saw St. Pauli awarded a free kick following a challenge from Fellhauer on Manolis Saliakas. Danel Sinami stepped up to take it and placed his effort in at the near post to put the hosts 2-1 up. FCA threw everything they had into attack as the closing stages of the match approached, with Ismaël Gharbi and Aiman Dardari both coming on to make their Bundesliga debuts. In the end, FCA were unable to find their way back into the game as they departed the Millerntor-Stadion empty-handed. 

Wagner's side will be back in action at home next Saturday, as they host 1. FSV Mainz 05 (20th September, 15:30 CEST).

Photo gallery from the match.

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