FC Augsburg stretched their unbeaten run to four matches after a hard-fought 1-1 draw away at a strong St. Pauli. The hosts looked set to claim all three points after taking an early lead, but FCA youngster Mert Kömür equalised late on to claim a point. The result leaves Augsburg 12th in the Bundesliga table with 26 points. 

After three consecutive wins, Augsburg boss Jess Thorup saw little reason to tinker with his starting XI. The only change saw Kristijan Jakić return to midfield in place of Arne Maier, while youngster Noahkai Banks kept his place in the back four in only his second Bundesliga start. Winter signing Mergim Berisha’s was unavailable for the matchday squad after picking up a muscle injury in training. 

Neither side was willing to take too many risks in the opening ten minutes, with both prioritising defensive stability. St. Pauli were the first to threaten in front of goal through Noah Weißhaupt in the 10th minute, though Matsima was able to clear the danger with a slide tackle before the flag was eventually raise. 

The hosts would eventually find the breakthrough in the 17th minute. Finn Dahmen initially got down brilliantly to scoop Philipp Treu’s headed attempt from sneaking into the bottom corner, but his defenders were unable to prevent the St Pauli midfielder from squeezing the rebound over the line. The goal eventually awarded as an own goal, as Banks was the last to touch the ball.

Augsburg reacted well but struggled to break down St. Pauli’s disciplined back line and went in at half time having failed to register a single shot.

Youngster Kömür rescues point

It was more of the same in the second half, as the visitors struggled to break down St Pauli’s compact defensive block. The home side almost doubled their lead when Maximilian Eggestein fired wide from a promising position in the 51st minute.

Augsburg slowly gained attacking momentum through the introduction of Arne Maier, Philipp Tietz, Robert Gumny, Mert Kömür, and Steve Mounié. The physical presence of Tietz and Mounié gave Augsburg more aerial threat, and the pressure eventually paid off in the 83rd minute. Dimitris Giannoulis found Kömür unmarked in the box with a looping cross, and the youngster fired a superb first-time volley into the back of the next to level the score.

The equaliser made for an exciting end and both sides could have found a winner. Elias Saad came close for St. Pauli in the 89th minute, while Mounié passed up a chance on the break in stoppage time (90+1’).

In the end, a draw was a fair result, securing a valuable point for Jess Thorup’s side ahead of the DFB-Pokal clash against VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday, February 4th (20:45 CET).

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