FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin made one change to the side that lost 1-0 at Union Berlin before the international break, Carlo Boukhalfa beginning instead of Connor Metcalfe (muscle injury). Eric Smith, who had to go off at Union due to an adductor problem, recovered in time to start. Augsburg coach Jess Thorup made five adjustments after the 4-0 defeat at Heidenheim.

In front of a sell-out crowd at the WWK-Arena captain Jackson Irvine and keeper Nikola Vasilj made their 100th competitive appearance for the Boys in Brown, who had the first chance through Morgan Guilavogui on the counter following an Augsburg corner in the fourth minute. The striker bore down on FCA keeper Nediljko Labrović but knocked the ball too far in front of him, allowing Labrović to gather. The hosts fashioned their first opportunity seven minutes later. A ball in was half cleared, allowing Frank Onyeka to shoot first time from just inside the box, but his powerfully struck effort flew a good metre past the right-hand angle of post and crossbar. Augsburg edged the possession thereafter without posing too much of a threat, however. That changed in the 22^nd minute when the home side had two opportunities to open the scoring. Smith cleared the first, a header from Keven Schlotterbeck, just before it crossed the line with Vasilj beaten and then blocked a backheel from Marius Wolf seconds later.

The Blessin XI struggled to find the right means to penetrate the Augsburg penalty area but did break through on the left-hand side after half an hour when Guilavogui fed the advancing Boukhalfa, whose effort was blocked. The rebound fell to Guilavogui just outside the box, but he directed his shot well wide of the post. The Frenchman picked up an injury in the process and had to go off soon after. He was replaced by Oladapo Afolayan. Just before half-time Elvis Rexhbecaj went close following a cutback from Wolf, and then Vasilj ensured it stayed 0-0. Vargas was allowed too much space on the right and found Samuel Essende completely unmarked with his low ball in. But the St. Pauli custodian was out of his goal quickly to make a crucial save.

Morgan Guilavogui attempts a shot in the 30th minute but left the field soon after carrying an injury.

Blessin made a double substitution at the start of the second half, introducing Manolis Saliakas and Elias Saad for Lars Ritzka, who was on a yellow, and Robert Wagner, a switch that also brought a tactical change. The game had hardly restarted when the home side took the lead. A cross from the right was met by energetically by Wolf, who steered the ball beyond Vasilj and into the far corner from the left channel. It went to a review for a possible handball in the build-up by Essende, but referee Felix Zwayer awarded the goal once the VAR check was complete.

It was a bitter start to the half for the Boys in Brown but they stepped up a gear right away and Afolayan found oceans of space from a Smith corner in the 52^nd minute, only to direct his header way off target. More promising attacking forays followed, but either the final ball was lacking or the home defenders were able to get a block in, a fate met by two attempts from Philipp Treu on 61 and 63. The Boys in Brown had responded well to going a goal down and had much more of the game than in the first half, but were caught cold just as they sought to increase the pressure. An Onyeka cross picked out substitute Phillip Tietz in far too much space, and his volley found the far corner of the net. The hosts could have added a third a few minutes later when Vasilj denied the onrushing Onyeka and then got down low to prevent a Rexhbecaj shot from sneaking in by the left-hand upright.

Then, with the game entering the final quarter of an hour, the Blessin XI were back in it. Saad dispatched a cross into the danger area for Boukhalfa to guide a glancing header into the far corner. The Boys in Brown kept their foot on the gas and Treu tried his luck with a curling effort towards the far corner from the left-hand side, but Labrović went full stretch to make the save. Augsburg suddenly found themselves pegged back in their own half, yet their defence stood firm.

Blessin responded with the introduction of Andreas Albers for Johannes Eggestein seven minutes before the end of regulation time. The Dane had only just come on when he headed a Hauke Wahl cross back to Saad, who wasted no time getting a shot off, but Labrović did brilliantly to turn the bouncing ball past the right-hand upright.

Adam Dźwigała replaced Carlo Boukhalfa in the closing stages, having already grabbed an important equaliser in the final minute of the DFB Cup tie at Halle. In a turbulent end to the game Albers saw a shot blocked by an Augsburg defender, and from the resulting corner Vasilj had to rush out of his penalty area to deny Arne Maier. Back at the other end, an Afolayan shot from outside the box was defused by Labrović, and three minutes later substitute Yusuf Kabadayi finally put the game to bed in the sixth minute of time added on.

FC Augsburg

Labrović - Bauer, Gouweleeuw, K. Schlotterbeck - Wolf (Pedersen 61'), Rexhbecaj, Jakić, Onyeka (Maier 83'), Giannoulis (Koudossou 83') - Essende (Kabadayi 78')​, Vargas (Tietz 61')

Head coach: Jess Thorup

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Wahl, Smith, Mets - Treu, Wagner (Saad 46'), Irvine, Boukhalfa (Dźwigała 89'), Ritzka (Saliakas 46') - Guilavogui (Afolayan 34'), Eggestein (Albers 84')

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Goals: 1-0 Wolf (47'), 2-0 Tietz (67'), 2-1 Boukhalfa (75'), 3-1 Kabadayi (90'+6)

Yellow cards: Essende, Giannoulis, Rexhbecaj, Tietz – Guilavogui, Ritzka

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Berlin)

Attendance: 30,660 (sold out)

Photos: Witters