FC St. Pauli draw with Deportivo de A Coruña at Millerntor; Rapp’s home debut ends in 2-2 draw

FC St. Pauli draw with Deportivo de A Coruña at Millerntor; Rapp’s home debut ends in 2-2 draw

FC St. Pauli | Dépor friendly ends all square on Rapp’s home premiere

Dépor friendly ends all square on Rapp’s home premiere

FC St. Pauli played out a 2-2 draw with Deportivo de A Coruña in their sixth and final pre-season warm-up game on Saturday evening. In front of 17,139 spectators at the Millerntor, Taichi Hara gave his side the lead after a ball out from Dépor keeper Leo Román hit him and rebounded into the empty net. Bright Ede levelled the scores on the hour before Martijn Kaars restored the advantage with 72 minutes gone, only for the visitors to equalise a second time Zakaria Eddahchouri.

Head coach Marcel Rapp was without Abdoulie Ceesay (ankle), Mathias Pereira Lage (knee), Sam Klein and Connor Metcalfe (both muscle problems) for the visit of the Galician side, who are back in La Liga after a nine-year absence. The game came around too early for World Cup returnees Jackson Irvine and Eric Smith. Another absentee was Rony Jansson, who signed on the dotted line yesterday, though he was in the ground and got his first taste of the Millerntor atmosphere.

The first attempt on goal of the 120 minutes – the two clubs had agreed that 90 minutes of normal time would be followed by another 30 – fell to the Rapp XI in the second minute when Arkadiusz Pyrka’s free-kick was tipped over by Dépor keeper Leo Román. The Boys in Brown shaded the possession in the opening stages but were unable to create any chances of note. At the back, some compact defending meant there was no way through for former Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his teammates. But then, in the 17th minute, it was 1-0, and what a strange goal it was. Román’s attempted punt downfield struck Taichi Hara and the ball rebounded past the keeper into the unguarded net.

Marcel Rapp’s team knocked the ball around nicely at times, but their passing occasionally lacked precision in the final third. With 27 minutes gone, Tomoya Andō’s first-time effort from just outside the box after a corner had only been half-cleared was diverted by a Joel Fujita backheel, but Román was equal to it. The visitors, who start the new campaign against FC Elche in mid-August, fashioned their first chance soon after when Mario Soriano a one-two with Bil Nsongo before unleashing a powerful drive from 18 metres, only to see the ball fly just past the angle of bar and post. And on the stroke of half-time Andō almost made it almost 2–0 from a Branimir Hrgota corner. His glancing header struck the far post, however.

Neither coach opted to make a change at at half-time. Two minutes in, there were loud appeals for a penalty when Hara went down in the box under a challenge from Bright Ede. Referee Jarno Wienefeld waved play on, however, and was right to do so. The Boys in Brown had come flying out of the traps and quickly took control of the proceedings. Another undercooked Dépor clearance from a 50th minute corner presented David Nemeth with a golden opportunity to double the advantage. Pyrka delivered the ball back into the danger area, but the defender’s header fizzed just wide of the left-hand upright. Two minutes later, Andō found himself in space just outside the area, but his shot cleared the crossbar. And moments after that, some great work from Pyrka created a chance for Martijn Kaars, but Román got his hands up quickly to make the save.

The visitors had been anonymous to that point but popped up at the other end on 56. Aubameyang met a cross from Luismi Cruz on the volley, but the angle was tight and his effort went wide. Dépor continued to press and after Lorenzo Amatucci had fired just over from the edge of the box, Cruz directed an effort a whisker past the post. Nemeth then diverted an Ede shot for a corner, and when the ball came back in, Ede was given too much space and his header drew the Galicians level.

Dépor boss Antonio Hidalgo made eight changes in the 64th minute, and five minutes later Ricky-Jade Jones came on for Taichi Hara. He hadn’t been on the pitch long when the Boys in Brown restored their lead after some neat passing play just outside the box, Kaars curling a fine effort into the top corner from inside the D after a one-two with Hrgota. The Dutchman was shaping to shoot again a few minutes later, but Pyrka’s pass failed to find the intended target, much to the Pole’s chagrin.

The intensity of the challenges remained high, yet fair, in the closing stages. Six minutes from the end of the second period, Pyrka blocked an effort from Zakaria Eddahchouri, but the Dépor man was not to be denied. His next attempt looked to be going wide but took a deflection off Marcus Mathisen, leaving Ben Voll no chance. Scott Banks came on for Martjin Kaars followed by Adam Dźwigała for the ailing David Nemeth, the referee blew his whistle to bring the second period to an end.

The final 30 minutes began after a five-minute break. Rapp fielded a completely new team for the last act, but his rejigged side struggled to find a way from the Dépor rearguard, with the result that much of the play unfolded in midfield. Eddahchouri tried his luck from range in the 11th minute but ballooned his effort well over the bar.

At the other end, Marwin Schmitz hit from over from just under 30 metres. The Boys in Brown kept pushing and a Jones shot on the turn was saved by Germán Parreño before Jannik Westphal headed an Erik Ahlstrand cross wide. Rawley St. John hobbled off to be replaced by Nick Schmidt, and then the final whistle blew.

“It was a decent display, but their goals were avoidable,” said head coach Marcel Rapp afterwards. “We created more chances in the box than they did, which is a good sign. The fans got their money’s worth, they saw all the lads play. Overall, I’m happy with the performance. We put a good footballing side under genuine pressure and won lots of balls. That’s exactly what we wanted. We didn’t create chances every time we attacked, but you could see where we’re heading.”

“We started well and had good energy on the pitch,” said David Nemeth. “We showed lots of enthusiasm, everyone wanted the ball. We got the ball forward quickly and were solid at the back. We conceded two unnecessary goals, though, which is something we need to sort out. Apart from that, we can be pleased with the performance.”

Voll (Spari 91’) - Nemeth (Dźwigała 89’), Mathisen (Robatsch 91’), Andō (Ritzka 91’) - Pyrka (St. John 91’

Schmidt 119’), Rasmussen (Westphal 91’), Fujita (Schmitz 91’), Oppie (Ahlstrand 91’) - Kaars (Banks 84’), Hrgota (Sabah 91’), Hara (Jones 69’)

Román (Parreño 91’) - Comas (Noubi 64’), Aubameyang (Barcia 64’), Villares (Patiña 64’), Amatucci (Eddahchouri 64’), Cruz (Guerrero 73’), Soriano (Quagliata 64’), Ede (Rodriguez 64’), Rico (Leonardo 77’), Pinilla (Gijselhart 64’), Nsongo (Sanchez Rey 64’)

Goals : 1-0 Hara (17’), 1-1 Ede (60’), 2-1 Kaars (72’), 2-2 Mathisen (o.g. 84')

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Taichi Hara gave his side a first-half lead.