FC St. Pauli

On his competitive debut for the club, head coach Alexander Blessin named an unchanged side following the 3-0 home defeat of Europa League winners Atalanta Bergamo. His Halle counterpart, Mark Zimmermann, also saw no reason to adjust his starting lineup after the recent 4-0 win at RW Erfurt.

The game began a couple of minutes late to allow a haze of smoke caused by the use of pyrotechnics in the home section to clear. But when the ball did start to roll in front of a sell-out crowd, including 1,400 raucous St. Pauli fans, it was almost nestling in the Halle net just 14 seconds in. Morgan Guilavogui showed good technical ability to create space for a shot in the right channel but couldn't find a way past Sven Müller. The Guinea international had the next chance as well from a 10^th minute Eric Smith corner, and this time Müller did brilliantly to turn ball onto the left-hand upright and then recover quickly to beat Hauke Wahl to the rebound. At the other end, the home side went one better moments later. Wahl passed the ball back to Nikola Vasilj, who had time but dallied in making the clearance and was dispossessed by Cyrill Akono on the edge of the goal area, and the Halle forward wasn't going to miss from that range.

The Boys in Brown continued to push forward in the ensuing period but apart from a Connor Metcalfe effort that was too centrally placed to trouble Müller they had nothing to show for their efforts. For all their possession it wasn't going to plan, with a combative Halle side giving as good as they got. In the 30-degree heat Blessin took advantage of a drinks break midway through the half to issue some instructions but his side remained an unable to pick a hole in the home rearguard. With half an hour gone Karol Mets cleared the bar by some distance with an effort from the edge of the area following a Smith corner. Another corner six minutes later found its way to Johannes Eggestein at the back post, but his header was defused by Müller. Halle then fashioned a decent chance of their own from a corner and Vasilj produced a fine save to keep Joe-Joe Richardson's shot out of the bottom right corner. That was the last of the action in the first half.

A frustrated Hauke Wahl turns away after Morgan Guilavogui was denied the opening goal in the tenth minute. Less than 60 seconds later, the home side took the lead.

Both sides emerged unchanged for the second half. The Boys in Brown needed a substantial improvement, especially going forward, if they were to claw their way back into it and then go on to win. And they made the perfect start, moving the ball upfield quickly with some nice one-touch football involving Fin Stevens, Robert Wagner and Jackson Irvine, who sent Guilavogui on his way into the Halle box. The striker played it first time into the middle, where Eggestein restored parity from nine metres. Eight minutes later, Connor Metcalfe had the ball in the net, but was a good metre offside when the pass came from Robert Wagner and the goal was ruled out.

The Blessin XI were totally dominant now but failed to create any additional opportunities for the time being. Halle were unable to escape the St. Pauli stranglehold – until the 61^st minute that is – when Richardson collected a long ball forward and pulled the trigger from range. His effort cleared the crossbar, but soon after that the ball did find the net. Starting with a goal-kick, the home side moved the ball upfield for Akono to knock an inch-perfect pass into the path of Marius Hauptmann, who slid in to direct the ball beyond Vasilj – 2-1 to Halle. Buoyed by the goal, the fourth-tier side stepped up the pressure and Robin Friedrich had an opportunity with a header when left unmarked at the back post but aimed way too high.

Seconds before another drinks break Blessin made a quadruple substitution, introducing Adam Dźwigała, Lars Ritzka, Elias Saad and Oladapo Afolayan for Hauke Wahl, Fin Stevens, Connor Metcalfe and Morgan Guilavogui in a bid to ward off an early cup exit. The home side were content to sit back and fight for every ball, however, and the Boys in Brown struggled to mount a threat.  Blessin threw on Carlo Boukhalfa for Robert Wagner on 81 and soon after Philipp Treu tried his luck from distance, but the shot flew well wide.

With the game into time added on, Saad almost drew his side level with a shot from just outside the area, but Müller did incredibly well to turn it round the left-hand upright. Was that it? No! In the 94^th minute a cross from the left arrowed through the Halle penalty box and Dźwigała met it first time, hitting a low shot into the bottom left corner to take the game into extra-time. What drama!

Seven minutes after the restart Halle captain Niklas Landgraf had a go from 30 metres out, but his first-time effort fizzed three metres wide. At the other end, Mets was denied by Müller from Dźwigała's pass. Into the second half, and after yet another Smith corner Eggestein had a shot blocked before Ritzka blazed wide of the target.

A couple of minutes later, though, the full-back made no mistake, heading beyond Müller into the far corner from Philipp Treu's whipped-in cross. 3-2! The hosts threw everyone forward in response, but the Boys in Brown saw the game out to reach the second round of the DFB Cup after a huge scare.

Hallescher FC

Müller - Berger, Löhmannsröben, Landgraf - Hauptmann, Kulke (Kastenhofer 79'), Stierlin (72' Inaler), Weber - Richardson (Halangk 86') - Akono (Vujanić 90'+5), Friedrich (Wosz 79')

Head coach: Mark Zimmermann

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Wahl (Dźwigała 72'), Smith, Mets - Stevens (Ritzka 72'), Irvine, Metcalfe (Saad 72'), Wagner (Boukhalfa 81'), Treu - Eggestein, Guilavogui (Afolayan 72')

Head coach: Alexander Blessin

Goals: 1-0 Akono (11'), 1-1 Eggestein (48'), 2-1 Hauptmann (62'), 2-2 Dźwigała (90'+4), 2-3 Ritzka (109')

Yellow cards: Berger, Kulke, Landgraf, Löhmannsröben, Vujanić – Boukhalfa, Guilavogui, Irvine. Mets

Referee: Daniel Siebert (Berlin)

Attendance: 14,000 (sold out)

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters