VfB 1:0 SCF in full time. What a match. That was about as fun as it gets. Freiburg was very, very stout defensively all match, then really bunkered up for the last 10-15 minutes. Demirović found himself on the end of a fantastic pass from Undav on a break off a midfield recovery of possession, and that was the difference in the game. Freiburg very nearly leveled in added time, but Nübel came up with a world-class, game-winning save to see us out. Three huge points. A very, very good day. Stats of the Match: VfB Stuttgart vs Freiburg - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats
James Sand starting in midfield for St. Pauli. Nubel Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Hendriks, Mittelstadt Karazor, Stiller Fuhrich, Undav, El Khannouss Demirovic
Late to the party today. Brutal arctic weather here and I had to make sure my birds had food. LOL Here's our Starting XI:
Oh man, I thought we were going to bang one in that sequence. Great run by Vagnoman, and then Führich with a promising cross. Just could not find a shot.
What is even the handball rule anymore? Obvious one there. The only question was whether he was in the penalty area or not.
Bloody hell, but credit where credit is due, great team goal by St. Pauli. Saliakas picked up the dummy and fired it in. STP 1-0 VfB at 35'
And that's how the half ends. We seemed to have firm control of this one until about 30', then Die Kiezkicker turned the tables on us. There were signs of trouble before that, but I put it down to a couple attempts at countering. Now it would seem they found a vulnerability in our formation. Seb needs to hit the blackboard.
Yeah, they need to get their offense in gear. Perhaps they thought St. Pauli were going to be an easy three points. IDK.
Substitution: Leweling for El Khannouss to start the second half. We'll see if that means more service for Undav and Demirović.
It felt that way at the start, then we got a couple good runs from Vagnoman and Führich on the wings and it looked like we had woken up and seized the match. Then it got away. I thought we definitely should have gotten a handball call just before the momentum shift. I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not.
I don't know how that's a handball in the area and St. Pauli didn't get called for a handball in the area which was much more obvious to me. Their defender literally slapped a through ball down. It was inadvertent, but so was Führich's. And the St. Pauli's landed in the box.
What is it about St. Pauli that they seem to always have VfB's number? They always present a tough match, whether in the Cup or BL.
Tough going for VfB. I always love it when one of my clubs gives hope to a smaller club and their fans. Such a service to provide.
They stay really compact and don't give us a lot of room to work. Other teams try it, but we're usually able to find a seam. We just can't do it with them. Sands may be a big part of that. He did the same thing for New York City FC: patrol in front of the back line and anchor the defense and clean up anything up the middle.
Substitutions: Chema and Arevalo for Karazor and Demirović at 85'. I had forgotten Ermedin was even out there. Total non-factor today.
Joy in the St. Pauli stadium; they pick up their 15th, 16th, and 17th points of the season. Thank you VfB!!!
St. Pauli 2-1 VfB Stuttgart in full time. Not too much to say about this one. We got beat. We were outplayed, out-fought and out-hustled. For the life of me, I don't know why we kept turning into the heart of their defense instead of breaking for the by-line and going for the cutback. Hopefully that's going to be something Hoeneß is going to have to address.