Rot-Weiss Essen eliminates FC St. Pauli from DFB-Pokal with 2:0 victory
Third-tier Rot-Weiss Essen advanced to the DFB-Pokal second round on Sunday with goals from Marek Janssen and Semir Telalovic, extending FC St. Pauli's winless start to three matches.
Missed chances in the opening half
Rot-Weiss Essen defeated FC St. Pauli 2:0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on Sunday at Stadion an der Hafenstrasse. The encounter began with an unexpected delay in the 2nd minute when St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll stepped on his right boot, broke his shoelace, and required new footwear. Essen applied early pressure from kickoff before the visitors found their rhythm after fifteen minutes. In the 19th minute, Polish winger Arkadiusz Pyrka advanced down the right side of the penalty area and delivered a pass behind Martijn Kaars, who sent the ball over an open net from two metres out. Kaars missed a second opportunity in the 31st minute, shooting over the crossbar after an attempted clearance by Essen goalkeeper Jakob Golz, the son of former Hamburger SV goalkeeper Richard Golz.
Essen takes control through Janssen and Telalovic
Essen opened the scoring in the 36th minute through an attacking sequence on the flank. Marvin Obuz sent a long cross toward the second post, where centre-forward Marek Janssen stood unmarked between St. Pauli defenders to head home his first goal of the season. St. Pauli generated a chance to equalise in first-half stoppage time (45+2), but Golz blocked another close-range effort from Kaars. The home side doubled their lead shortly after the break in the 53rd minute. A delivery into the penalty box found Semir Telalovic completely unmarked, allowing the forward to strike a volley into the net.
- St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll changes boots after snapping a shoelace
- Martijn Kaars misses an open net from an Arkadiusz Pyrka pass
- Martijn Kaars shoots over the crossbar after a clearance error by Jakob Golz
- Marek Janssen heads in a cross from Marvin Obuz to give Essen a 1:0 lead
- Jakob Golz blocks a close-range attempt from Martijn Kaars
- Semir Telalovic volleys into the net unmarked to double Essen's lead to 2:0
Defensive lapses and cup milestones
Following the second goal, Essen retreated into a defensive structure to protect their two-goal cushion, while St. Pauli struggled to generate dangerous offensive actions. Essen looked capable of scoring a third goal through rapid counter-attacks as the second half progressed. The defeat marks St. Pauli's first opening-round exit from the DFB-Pokal since the 2020/2021 season. Essen, who won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, progressed after having exited the competition last season in a 0:1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. Reporting sources provide conflicting historical frames for Essen, with reports describing the win as their first second-round qualification in six years, while another report records it as their first since 2000.
Winless start for Marcel Rapp
The defeat compounds a challenging start to the season for St. Pauli following their relegation from the Bundesliga. Head coach Marcel Rapp chose an unchanged starting eleven from his opening two league fixtures. St. Pauli remain winless across all competitive matches this term, having recorded two draws in the 2. Bundesliga: a 1:1 against SpVgg Greuther Fürth and a 2:2 away against Holstein Kiel. Essen previously missed promotion to the second division after losing to Fürth in the promotion-relegation playoff. St. Pauli will attempt to recover their form on Sunday, 30 August, when they host 1. FC Kaiserslautern at the Millerntor-Stadion at 13:30.
