Pirate ship sinks as Wolfsburg advance to playoff | OneFootball

FC St. Pauli (6-8-19, 18th) welcomed VfL Wolfsburg (6-8-19, 16th) to Millerntor-Stadion in Hamburg on a cloudy, twelve-degree Saturday afternoon. Both sides are directly involved in the battle to avoid direct relegation to 2. Bundesliga, with at least one of the sides certain to drop to the second tier of German football.

While a win would have been crucial to increasing their chances of qualifying for the promotion/relegation playoff, both sides went into this match knowing that qualification was not certain. Wolfsburg, St. Pauli, and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 went into this match tied on 26 points; At the same time, 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 host 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Voith-Arena.

VfL Wolfsburg would be guaranteed qualification for the relegation playoff if they win and the Heidenheim/Mainz match ends in a draw or a defeat for the hosts. If Heidenheim wins their match, then Wolfsburg need to hope that Frank Schmidt’s side wins by a lesser margin, an equal margin, or a greater margin of less than three goals than what Wolfsburg won by (for example, if Wolfsburg win 1-0 and Heidenheim win 3-0, Wolfsburg qualify on goal difference, but if Wolfsburg win 1-0 and Heidenheim 4-0, both teams are tied on goal difference but Heidenheim goes to the playoff on goals scored).

Wolfsburg can also qualify with a draw and a Heidenheim draw or loss; a draw between Wolfsburg and St. Pauli at Millerntor, plus a Heidenheim win at Voith-Arena, relegates both Wolfsburg and St. Pauli to 2. Bundesliga.

FC St. Pauli are only guaranteed qualification if they win and Heidenheim draw or lose against Mainz, or if they win and Heidenheim defeats Mainz by a lesser margin than what St. Pauli won by. If Heidenheim wins by an equal or greater margin than what St. Pauli won by (for example, Heidenheim wins 2-0 and St. Pauli wins 1-0) qualifies Heidenheim for the playoff and relegates St. Pauli.

Christian Eriksen kicked the ball back to Kamil Grabara, who sent it upfield to kick off the match in Hamburg. The first chance would come in the ninth minute, as Connor Metcalfe darted into the right side of the Wolfsburg half; Denis Vavro stepped in front of the Australian international and tapped the ball out for a corner to the hosts. Fellow Australian Jackson Irvine would whip in the ensuing far-post corner, but Jeanuël Belocian headed it away, allowing Wolfsburg to regroup.

At this point of the match, news came in from Mainz that Philipp Tietz had put the visitors in front at Voith-Arena, meaning that if both scores held, Wolfsburg would survive. This was met by cheers from the visiting crowd - and also the home crowd to a degree, since St. Pauli could also qualify with a win.

St. Pauli would continue to attack from the right side of the Wolfsburg half; Arkadiusz Pyrka would attempt a ground pass to the centre of the box in the thirteenth minute, but Konstantinos Koulierakis stepped in and hoofed the ball towards the midfield.

In the eighteenth minute, Vinícius Souza would clip the right boot of Pyrka just after the latter knocked the ball back to Hauke Wahl; the Polish midfielder would instantly go to the ground, clipping his leg, and Brazilian defensive midfielder picked up a yellow as a result.

Kumbedi, on the right side of the St. Pauli third and close to the penalty area, passed the ball short to Dženan Pejčinović inside the box. Irvine pushed the München-born striker, causing the

In the twenty-second minute, Louis Oppie, on the left side of the Wolfsburg half, played the ball short to his right to Joel Chima Fujita; the Japanese midfielder then attempted a curling shot with his right leg but blasted the ball off the bar. Wolfsburg went on a quick counterattack, with the ball threaded to Adam Daghim for a one-on-one opportunity. At top speed and with Tomoya Andō tracking behind, Daghim made his way into the centre of the box before attempting to lift the ball over Nikola Vasilj; however, the Bosnian goalkeeper closed down the angle and stretched out his right leg to deflect the bouncing ball just to the right for a corner kick.

Eriksen’s near-post cross on the ensuing set piece was headed by Souza, landing to the other side of the goal area where Daghim was placed. The Danish forward could not get enough of the ball to power a shot into the bottom-right corner, but it deflected off his boot, off the ground and then the bar. Mattias Svanberg would have a chance of his own in the minutes that followed, weaving his way into the centre of the box before attempting a left-footed shot towards the bottom-right corner; it went between the legs of Adam Dźwigała but was weakly taken, rolling straight to Vasilj.

Following a St. Pauli free kick after a Mæhle tackle, Martijn Kaars would cross the ball from the left side of the Wolfsburg third into the centre of the box. Metcalfe could not get enough of the ball in time, but Andō would attempt a header in open space on the centre of the box

Wolfsburg would win a free kick of their own in the thirty-first minute Eriksen would power a dipping free kick towards the top-left corner, but Vasilj punched it over the bar for a corner to the visitors. The ensuing corner landed to Kumbedi, who could not launch a midair attempt; Chima Fujita took advantage and darted his way the midfield with possession. Daghim ran behind him and quickly tapped his right boot, sending Chima Fujita to the ground and forcing Daniel Siebert to award a free kick to St. Pauli. Daghim would also pick up a yellow card for the incident.

The ensuing free kick was punched away by a leaping Kamil Grabara, to the left edge of the box. Connor Metcalfe pounced on the rebound with an almost immediate attempt, hoping to catch the Polish goalkeeper off guard; however, Grabara reacted to the bottom-left attempt swiftly and slid to knock it away for a corner to the hosts. Oppie would be responsible for the set-piece delivery, but hit it a bit too far and it went behind Grabara for a goal kick.

The ensuing goal kick went into the left side of the St. Pauli half, springing Daghim on an onside run with Adam Dźwigała to his side. Daghim would try for the bottom-right corner again, but Vasilj would make a similar save with his right leg and it went out of play for a corner to the visitors on the left side of the box.

Eriksen’s near-post corner was met by a towering header from Koulierakis, who sent it past a mass of players in the goalmouth and into the bottom-left corner of the goal. It was the second goal in the last three matches for the Greek international centre-back, his third in the last ten, and with that, VfL Wolfsburg jumped in front at Millerntor-Stadion, the only team in the relegation battle on 29 points.

St. Pauli would try for a late equaliser at the break; Kaars, on the right side of the Wolfsburg penalty area in the forty-first minute, would tap the ball into the centre of the goal area; Hountondji was left alone, undefended, but the ball went off the wrong side of his left boot and bounced to Grabara, who made the stop and held on.

Daniel Siebert would call time on the first half soon after, as VfL Wolfsburg went into the break with a 1-0 lead; at the same time, 1. FSV Mainz 05 doubled their lead against 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 on a Nadiem Amiri goal in the forty-third minute, bringing even more joy to the travelling supporters.

Shots in the first half finished 9-4 in favour of Wolfsburg, 6-1 on target. Wolfsburg held 57% possession and had a 13% stronger passing accuracy - 78% on 178 passes, compared to 65% on 108 for St. Pauli.

To reinvigorate the St. Pauli attack, Alexander Blessin made his first change at halftime - sending Hountondji to the bench and bringing on Abdoulie Ceesay. The Gambian forward kicked off the second half for the hosts.

Eight minutes into the second term, Daghim and Pejčinović connected a string of passes between each other on the left side of the St. Pauli half. Pejčinović made his way into the left side of the box and received a through ball from the Dane, but could not take full advantage as his weak attempt rolled right into the hands of a bowing Vasilj.

In the fifty-sixth minute, Oppie ran into the right side of the Wolfsburg half, close to the box; he delivered a far-post cross intended to reach Ceesay, but Grabara leapt above both Ceesay and Koulierakis, pawing the ball away for a corner. Metcalfe crossed the set piece near-post and this time, Ceesay would reach it first - he leapt slightly above Koulierakis and Vavro, heading the ball past Grabara and into the centre of the goal to draw the hosts level.

Koulierakis would supply a through ball from the left side of the Wolfsburg half, to Pejčinović just outside the box. The 21-year-old German youth international followed with a right-footed attempt that went just wide of the left post, but not without deflecting off a sliding Andō - thus giving Wolfsburg a corner. However, nothing came of the set piece, as Eriksen hit the ball too far.

Vavro’s long ball reached Daghim, who in turn played the ball short to Pejčinović; his left-footed shot towards the bottom-right corner was deflected by the right arm of Vasilj and out for a corner to the visitors. Eriksen’s cross into the centre of the goal area was punched by the Bosnian goalkeeper, but not quite in the direction he wanted it to go - as it went into the bottom-left corner to give Wolfsburg the lead.

Head official Siebert was hesitant to call it a goal on the field, believing that he saw a foul during the play - but upon consultation with VAR officials Benjamin Cortus and Justus Zorn, it was determined that there was no infringement on the part of Kumbedi, who was close to touching Vasilj’s hand during the play, and thus, the goal was given.

From the left side of the St. Pauli third, Yannick Gerhardt would send a ground pass into the centre of the box. Pejčinović powered an almost immediate attempt, with his left hand. Andō slid to meet it, although with his hand - that led Daniel Siebert to communicate with the VAR officials again, eventually awarding a penalty. Eriksen blasted the spot kick above Vasilj but off the bar and out of play.

With ten minutes remaining in the 90, Yannick Gerhardt would tap a pass to Eriksen in the centre of the box. The veteran Dane would be denied by Vasilj, closing down the angle; however, the rebound sprang to Pejčinović, who tapped the ball past a sliding Oppie at the goalmouth and into the bottom-right corner.

St. Pauli had seven minutes of additional time to find three goals, but the tall order could not be fulfilled - officially confirming their relegation to 2. Bundesliga. As for VfL Wolfsburg, after a season of difficulty, finally a sense of relief - doing just enough to get a second chance at staying in the German top-tier.

VfL Wolfsburg will play the third-place team in 2. Bundesliga, which is to be determined tomorrow afternoon - any one of SV Elversberg, Hannover 96, or SC Paderborn 07. The first leg of the relegation playoff will be any of Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, with a final date to be determined within the next 48-72 hours.