FC St. Pauli

Head coach Jos Luhukay made one change to the side that lost 2-1 at Holstein Kiel, Finn Ole Becker replacing Johannes Flum on the newly laid Millerntor pitch. Dynamo coach Markus Kauczinski made three changes to the side that lost 3-2 at home to Darmstadt 98. Bariş Atik, Chris Löwe and Ondrej Petrák all came in for captain Patrick Ebert (one-match ban), Brian Hamalainen and Dženis Burnić (both on the bench).

In a game important to both teams – bottom-of-the-table Dresden wanted a win to move out of the drop zone, while the Boys and Brown looked to extend the gap to the relegation spots – the Boys in Brown were first out of the blocks. Henk Veerman set up Viktor Gyökeres, who cut inside to hit a powerful shot from 20 metres, but Dynamo keeper Kevin Broll was perfectly placed to make the save. Shortly after, Leo Østigård had a shot from blocked from a corner. The Boys in Brown continued to press forward. A back heel from Veerman in the box was squared by Waldemar Sobota to Gyökeres. Broll was beaten but Linus Wahlqvist cleared the ball off the line. Østigård then headed over.

Luhukay's side went very close three minutes later following a quick counterattack. Becker found Ryo Miyaichi and he broke away, beating Löwe with a stepover in the box and shooting from 14 metres, only to denied by an impressive reflex save from Broll, who turned the ball onto the outside of the post. It was all one-way traffic at this stage. Another counterattack ended with Sobota setting up Veerman, who tried a delicate lob from 15 metres. Broll could only watch the ball go past him but was relieved to see it go just wide of the far post.

The visitors made little headway up front but eventually forced a corner. The ball ended up with Atik, but his effort from the back of the box was too high and ended up in the South Stand. Shortly after, Luhukay's side exploited Dresden losing possession to stage another counterattack. Sobota picked up the ball, ran with it for 40 metres and then passed to Gyökeres, but Broll held onto his shot at the second attempt. The Dynamo keeper was centre stage once again soon after when Gyökeres shot from a Miyaichi cross, but Broll was able to save the deflected effort.

The Boys in Brown should have been ahead by now, as it was an impressive display apart from the finishing. More chances soon followed. Broll denied Gyökeres from a low Sobota corner, and then Miyaichi had two chances to break the deadlock – first sliding in after excellent work from Gyökeres and then from a tight angle. The Boys in Brown kept up the pressure but were unable to create any more chances. After Robin Himmelmann was finally called into action to deal with a distance effort from Josef Hušbauer, the referee blew for half-time.

Viktor Gyökeres came close several time to opening the scoring for the Boys in Brown.

Luhukay did not make any changes at half-time but there was one substitution for the visitors, René Klingenburg coming on for Sascha Horvath. As in the first half, it took nine minutes for the Boys in Brown to fashion their first attempt on goal. Veerman shot from the edge of the box, but his effort was blocked by Jannis Nikolaou. Then, the visitors created a chance. Atik found Patrick Schmidt, but his shot from found the side netting.

Dresden sat back more than in the first half and succeeded in closing down the space, making it difficult for the Boys in Brown to penetrate. They stuck to their task, though, and kept pressing. Luhukay made his first substitution just after the hour, introducing Luis Coordes for Gyökeres. The pattern remained the same and FCSP then had another chance from a corner. This time Østigård headed wide of the far post.

After Becker had fired well wide from range, he was replaced by Christopher Buchtmann for the closing stages. Dresden were now camped in their own half and rarely ventured up the other end. Luhukay reacted by bringing on Dimitrios Diamantakos in place of Benatelli, a striker replacing a midfielder.

The game then burst into life again. Löwe was brought down in the box by a sliding tackle from Luca Zander and referee Daniel Schlager pointed to the spot. After an intervention by VAR, however, he then elected to take another look at the incident, whereupon he changed his decision and showed Löwe a yellow card for diving. The Boys in Brown responded positively and carried on attacking. With three minutes of regulation time left, a cross from Coordes was headed just wide by Miyaichi.

There was then great drama in the fourth and final minute of added time. A Buchtmann cross skimmed off the bar, presented Miyaichi with a golden opportunity to win it. He controlled the ball and shot, only to see it bounce back off the post. A rebound effort by Sobota was blocked and fell to Veerman, but he was taken by surprise and was unable to find the back of the net, leaving the game to end in a goalless draw.

FC St. Pauli

Himmelmann - Zander, Østigård, Buballa, Ohlsson - Benatelli (Diamantakos 83'), Becker (Buchtmann 74') - Miyaichi, Sobota, Gyökeres (Coordes 62') - Veerman

Head coach: Jos Luhukay

Dynamo Dresden

Broll - Wahlqvist (Kreuzer 67'), Ballas, Nikolaou, Löwe - Petrák, Hušbauer - Horvath (Klingenburg 46'), Atik, Terrazzino (Hamalainen 80') - Schmidt

Head coach: Markus Kauczinski

Incidents of note: Referee Schlager reverses penalty decision after VAR intervention (85')

Yellow cards: Sobota, Benatelli – Klingenburg, Petrák

Referee: Daniel Schlager

Attendance: 28,980

Photos: Witters