FC St. Pauli

Connor Metcalfe had not worn the club colours in almost six months, having last played in the 3-0 win at SC Freiburg in late September before being sidelined by osteitis pubis. The Australia midfielder resumed full training in February and was named in the matchday squad for the trip to Mainz. A calf problem ruled him out of the following matches against Dortmund and Wolfsburg, but he was back in the squad for the visit of Hoffenheim. He didn't feature in that game, however, and thus celebrated his return to action in the friendly at second division Hertha BSC.

"I'm happy to be back," said Metcalfe afterwards. "It was my first game in six months and not my best, but the performance was OK." The Australian was the first to admit that he didn’t see much of the ball in the first half, but he did have the best chance to open the scoring following a Scott Banks corner. "If it had been on target, it would have gone in," said Metcalfe, who was slightly surprised to have climbed so high to make the header. "It was probably down to all the strength training I did during my rehab," he said with a grin.

Asked to summarise the first half, the midfielder said: "There were a lot of lads on the pitch who haven't had much playing time this season. You could see the lack of match practice, but we did a decent job and had some good moments. I feel good physically, but I still lack match fitness. There were phases in the game when I was more tired than usual, and I did feel a bit rusty after six months out."

Metcalfe made way for Robert Wagner in the second half. The midfielder had been sidelined for more than four months after injuring a muscle in his left thigh in the friendly at Eintracht Braunschweig a few days after the narrow 1-0 home defeat against Bayern Munich.

Wagner was also delighted to be back in action, saying: "It's a great feeling to be back on the pitch playing football with the boys. I really enjoyed it. Even though we didn't win the game, it was a good runout with lots of intensity. You need a bit of time to get back into the swing of things after four months out but it's good to get some minutes in your legs again. I'll definitely feel it tomorrow but that's normal."

Elias Saad is another player to return recently after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The winger sustained a serious ankle injury in the home game against Mainz in early October that required surgery. After almost four months out, he returned to Bundesliga action at home to Augsburg in early February. "Even though it was only a couple of minutes, it was an incredible feeling to run out at the Millerntor after the long layoff," said Saad, who made his first start two weeks later when Freiburg were the visitors, a game the Boys in Brown were unlucky to lose by the only goal. "It felt so good to be starting a game again," he added. "I haven't been so nervous since I made my debut. Apart from the result I really enjoyed it."

Elias Saad returned to action in early February after a lengthy layoff due to an ankle injury.

Photos: FC St. Pauli/Witters