Hauke Wahl: “It’s awesome when we ignite the fans” | OneFootball

Second-half goals from Hauke Wahl and Joel Chima Fujita, either side of a Jovan Milošević equaliser, secured all three points for Alexander Blessin’s side. The result sees St. Pauli leapfrog their opponents in the standings and climb to 16th place.

Goalscorer Wahl marked his return from injury in perfect fashion and was visibly delighted at full-time:

“When we play in a way that gets the fans behind us, it's extremely difficult for teams here. We’ve been able to do that in the last few home games. Today, winning was the only thing on our minds and our thinking was positive. We were up for it, and you saw that today. 

Crunch games like these are a lot of fun. It's awesome when we ignite the fans. Finding a way to get the crowd behind us is so important.”

Head coach Alexander Blessin was particularly pleased with his side’s second-half display:

“After the break, we were more aggressive and we shifted as a unit better in terms of the distance between the lines. We got the second goal after a nice passing move. I'm so happy that Joel Chima Fujita finally got on the scoresheet. 

Towards the end we dropped back a bit and didn't allow them many chances. It’s three important points, but we know there’s still a long way to go and we have lots of work ahead of us.”

Defender Karol Mets echoed the sense of relief felt around the Millerntor:

“It’s a huge relief and I’m going to treat myself to a beer or two. It was a tough game, but we deserved to win.”

He also reserved special praise for the home support:

“The interaction with the fans was superb. They gave us a lift and extra energy.”

St. Pauli now turn their focus quickly to the next challenge, with crucial fixtures coming thick and fast. A tough trip to third-placed Hoffenheim awaits - though another positive result could lift them out of the bottom three.