FC St. Pauli

Head coach Alexander Blessin and Greuther Fürth boss Alexander Zorniger each fielded two teams in the 120-minute friendly (4x30 minutes) at Grenzlandstadion in Kufstein, ringing the changes at the halfway mark. With several players missing, including Jackson Irvine), Karol Mets captained the side for the first time.

Fürth had the opening chance in the fifth minute, Julian Green lofting the ball over the St. Pauli defence to Gideon Jung following a free-kick, and keeper Ben Voll had to pull out all the stops to prevent his team from falling behind. The first opportunity of note at the other end arrived on 13 minutes when Scott Banks cut inside from the right. The ball landed at the feet of Robert Wagner, who drilled a shot wide of the left-hand upright from outside the box.

In an opening half-hour low on chances, Dennis Srbeny was afforded too much space five minutes before the first break but failed to make a proper connection and Voll gathered comfortably. There was nothing the keeper could do in the 29^th minute, however, when Roberto Massimo broke down the left and found the bottom right-hand corner with the outside of his boot.

When the action resumed after a ten-minute break, the Boys in Brown had a decent opportunity to equalise early on, spreading the play from the left flank to the right, where Banks pulled the trigger from the right channel, only for Fürth keeper Nahuel Noll to thrust a hand up to keep the ball out of the top corner. Five minutes later, Fürth doubled their advantage after David Nemeth had given the ball away on the halfway line. Branimir Hrgota bore down on Voll and squared the ball unselfishly to Noel Futkeu, who slid the ball into the empty net.

Though the Blessin XI were edging the possession, Fürth were the more dangerous of the two teams going forward and were thus worth their lead. Futkeu could have added another after a quick transition but was denied by Voll. The Boys in Brown continued to press but were unable to find a way through the Fürth rearguard and so the first 60-minute half ended 2-0 to the Franconians.

Scott Banks under challenges from Fürth's Roberto Massimo, who opened the scoring for the second-division side after 29 minutes.

Under-19 midfielder Marwin Schmitz, who replaced Danel Sinani after 45 minutes, was the only man in brown to return for the second period, while Fürth made three changes. Just five minutes after the restart, Futkeu grabbed a third for Fürth, leaving Voll no chance from close range following a low ball in by Hrgota. At the other end, Schmitz tried his luck from 25 metres, but the ball fizzed well wide. Hauke Wahl went much closer four minutes later when Connor Metcalfe whipped in a corner and the defender's header flew a whisker past the left-hand upright. Luca Günther then had a pop from almost 30 metres, but Fürth keeper Moritz Schulze saved with aplomb. There was nothing he could do a few minutes later, however, when a Metcalfe free-kick found its way to Adam Dźwigała on the far side. His knock-back across goal clearly took Schulze by surprise and the ball dropped into the net at the far post.

It was almost 3-2 a few minutes later when Lars Ritzka met a cross from the right-hand side first time. The ball arrived at the unmarked Oladapo Afolayan, but he was unable to control it and the chance was gone. As a light shower kicked in and the wind picked up, the Boys in Brown began to dictate the proceedings, nullifying the attacking threat of Fürth. Metcalfe curled a free-kick over the wall, but Schulze got down low to his right to make the save. After the third and final ten-minute break, Voll was replaced by Rony Seibt in goal. Another four academy players featured in the ensuing 30 minutes in Emil Staugaard, Marwin Schmitz, Noah Palapies and Theo Schröder, and one of them, 16-year-old Palapies, almost made it 3-2 from a fine Ritzka cross. The Blessin XI kept things tight at the back until the final whistle but were unable to find the net again at the other end and despite an improved second-half performance it ended in a 3-1 defeat.

Head coach Alexander Blessin after the game: "I thought the first 10 to 15 minutes were really good but after that you could tell Fürth are two weeks further into pre-season than we are. We didn't have the cover or the pressure when the first few long balls came in, so there's still room for improvement there. A lot of things did work, though, and we'll take that. It's only the second week for us and only our second game. It was the sixth for Fürth and they fielded their first team. We went with two mixed teams and aim to give everyone some playing time in the second week here. Games like these are good to ascertain what we have to do better. We still have quite a bit to do but there were a couple of bright spots as well. We had a lot of young players out there who played with courage. Our heads dropped after the second goal. We're in pre-season and mistakes happen. Step by step we're trying to improve, cut out the mistakes and learn from them."

FC St. Pauli

1^st half: Voll - Nemeth, Dahaba, Mets - Banks, Ahlstrand, Wagner, Sinani (Schmitz 45'), Saad - Eggestein, Schröder

2^nd half: Voll (Seibt 91') - Dźwigała, Wahl, Staugaard - Günther, Boukhalfa (Schröder 91'), Schmitz, Metcalfe, Ritzka - Palapies, Afolayan

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Greuther Fürth

1^st half: Noll - Jung, Müller, Itter - Asta, Green, Meyerhöfer, Massimo - Hrgota - Srbeny, Futkeu

2^nd half: Schulze (Klatte 91') - Münz, Jung (Michalski 75'), Itter (Wagner 75') - Mhamdi, Green (Adiele 91'), Meyerhöfer (Näpflein 91'), Gießelmann - Hrgota (Calhanoglu 91') - Srbeny (Popp 75'), Futkeu (Grimbs 91')

Head coach: Alexander Zorniger

Goals: 0-1 Massimo (29'), 0-2 Futkeu (39'), 0-3 Futkeu (65'), 1-3 Dźwigała (79')

Yellow cards: Afolayan

Referee: Cemil Et

Photos: Witters