2. Bundesliga Topspiel: Fujita strikes late as St. Pauli claim first win of the season against Wolfsburg | OneFootball

After a goalless opening 87 minutes, Joel Chima Fujita broke the deadlock in the 88th minute to finally give St. Pauli the breakthrough they had been searching for.

The result ends St. Pauli’s wait for a first league victory of the campaign, having collected just three points from their opening four matches before tonight’s meeting. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the season after beginning the campaign unbeaten.

There was plenty of attacking intent from both sides during an entertaining first half, although neither could find the breakthrough.

Wolfsburg came closest inside the opening five minutes when Fabian Reese struck the crossbar from a free-kick, while St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll was then forced into action to deny Muhammed Damar.

The hosts responded as Connor Metcalfe tested Jakub Zielinski from distance before Abdoulie Ceesay came close to opening the scoring in the 12th minute. The St. Pauli forward met a dangerous free-kick from close range but headed straight at the Wolfsburg goalkeeper.

St. Pauli continued to threaten as the half progressed, with Metcalfe firing over from inside the box and Ceesay missing another opportunity after Zielinski had spilled the ball under pressure.

Wolfsburg remained dangerous at the other end, with Reese seeing another effort saved by Voll, but the two sides went into the interval level at 0-0. Kicker described the opening 45 minutes as an entertaining contest in which the momentum repeatedly shifted between the two sides.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with St. Pauli creating the clearer opportunities.

Metcalfe came agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 60th minute when his effort from outside the box took a deflection off Cleiton before crashing against the crossbar.

Fujita then tested Zielinski moments later as the hosts continued to push for a first win of the campaign. Kicker noted that both the number and quality of St. Pauli’s chances were beginning to favour the home side. 

Wolfsburg made a series of substitutions in an attempt to regain control, bringing on Bence Dardai, Jonas Adjetey, Yannick Gerhardt and Maximilian Arnold during the second half.

St. Pauli also introduced Adam Dźwigała and Martijn Kaars, with the hosts continuing to search for the goal that would settle an increasingly tight contest.

Eventually, their persistence paid off.

With just two minutes of normal time remaining, Fujita finally found the breakthrough to send the Millerntor into celebration. Ceesay won possession high up the pitch before finding the Japanese midfielder, who unleashed a strike from range that took a deflection on its way past Zielinski.

Fujita’s late strike proved decisive as St. Pauli held on through the closing stages to secure a hugely valuable three points.

Wolfsburg were unable to find a response, leaving St. Pauli to celebrate their first league victory of the season and a clean sheet against one of the division’s early promotion contenders.

The victory moves St. Pauli onto six points from five matches, while Wolfsburg remain on eight points after suffering their first defeat of the campaign.