FC St. Pauli

When people get up in the middle of the night to catch a bus or a train to Heidenheim to watch FC St. Pauli, you simply have to take your hat off to them. The Baden-Württemberg town is hardly a stone's throw from Hamburg, it's a bloody long way! For many, that's no reason not to go, of course. But there is one thing that might get them wondering if a long trip south is really what they want to be doing on a Sunday, and that's a run of five defeats in five matches at the Voith Arena. Yes, you read it right. To date, every St. Pauli outing to Heidenheim has ended in disappointment and frustration.

There are two ways you can look at that. On the one hand, disappointment and frustration are emotions that permeate all our dewy-eyed and irrational fan existences. We've all been there, and that's fair enough. Yet it doesn't always have to be that way. And that is precisely the point. Jos Luhukay's side might not have replicated their performances of recent weeks against Darmstadt last weekend, but they are still a work in progress, and we have to accept that. Knowing that the Boys in Brown have thrilled and impressed so many of us with their football this season is much more important.

That has been equally true away from home, even though a win has yet to materialise on the road this term. It is only a matter of time until it does, though, which is something everyone at the club can agree on. Every run comes to an end eventually. Heidenheim will have something to say about that, of course, because for them it would mean another game without a victory. Frank Schmidt's are winless in three, and last week's dreary 0-0 draw at promoted side Wehen Wiesbaden will not have been to the taste of the club officials. Accordingly, the home side are sure to go about their work with no lack of motivation and commitment on Sunday.

So what now? Much will depend on whether the Boys in Brown can withstand the early onslaught and keep Marc Schnatterer in check. The Heidenheim midfielder has put no fewer than five goals past keeper Robin Himmelmann in a distinguished career to date. At the other end, our strikers will have to show the same clinical finishing as they have in previous games this season. If they do that, Aziz Bouhaddouz and Christopher Nöthe will no longer be the only St. Pauli players to get on the scoresheet at Heidenheim and our negative run in Baden-Württemberg will have come to an end.

Photos: Witters