Joel Fujita strikes late as FC St. Pauli beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 at Millerntor

Late deflection settles clash at Millerntor

FC St. Pauli secured their first win of the 2. Bundesliga season with a 1-0 victory over VfL Wolfsburg in front of 29,546 spectators at a sold-out Millerntor-Stadion on Friday evening. The decisive moment arrived in the 88th minute when Japanese midfielder Joel Chima Fujita struck a shot that took a heavy deflection off Wolfsburg defender Jonas Adjetey, leaving goalkeeper Jakub Zielinski unable to recover. The late goal handed Wolfsburg their first league defeat of the campaign and halted their progress near the top of the table. Both clubs entered the encounter following relegation from the top tier on 16 May, when Wolfsburg won 3-1 in Hamburg before subsequently losing their two-legged promotion-relegation play-off against SC Paderborn.

End-to-end action and woodwork hits

The match opened at high speed, with both sides striking the crossbar during an active contest. Wolfsburg winger Fabian Reese went close in the fifth minute, curling a free kick over the defensive wall against the bar, before St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll denied him in a one-on-one opportunity in the 20th minute. At the other end, Zielinski parried a drive from Connor Metcalfe in the tenth minute and stopped an Abdoulie Ceesay header two minutes later. Ceesay missed another opening in the 27th minute, shooting into the side netting after Zielinski lost control of the ball on the wet pitch. In the second half, Wolfsburg defender Kilian Fischer fired wide from the edge of the box in the 54th minute, and Metcalfe struck the woodwork for St. Pauli in the 60th minute before Fujita found the net.

Tactical adjustments and squad rebuilding

Both managers made changes to their starting lineups due to player absences. St. Pauli head coach Marcel Rapp had to manage without defenders Tomoya Ando, who missed out due to a private matter, and Marcus Mathisen due to illness, alongside injured playmaker Branimir Hrgota. Wolfsburg coach Tobias Strobl was forced to adjust his side without striker Robert Glatzel due to illness and midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj due to injury. The defeat followed a 4-4 draw against Energie Cottbus the previous week, where Wolfsburg surrendered a 3-0 advantage. Defender Kilian Fischer noted the difficulty of integrating a new squad and system after dropping down a division.

“We are definitely far from being an absolute top team. We have not played a single game top over 90 minutes so far.”

Historical milestones and standings gap

The victory brought an end to St. Pauli's 14-game winless competitive run, recording their first competitive victory since defeating TSG Hoffenheim 1-0 in the Bundesliga on 28 February. For Wolfsburg, the loss was their first in the second division in nearly 30 years, dating back to a 0-4 defeat at 1. FC Kaiserslautern in March 1997. The result dropped Wolfsburg to fifth place on eight points after five rounds, trailing league leaders 1. FC Nürnberg on 13 points and second-placed Hertha BSC on 12 points. Wolfsburg captain Hauke Wahl, who joined the club in the summer after three years at St. Pauli, addressed the team's ongoing development.

“I think this is simply a process, and defeats are part of that, regardless of a squad valuation. One must not forget that we have not been together for that long.”

1. FC Nürnberg13

Hertha BSC12

VfL Wolfsburg8

1. FC Nürnberg

13 points

Hertha BSC

12 points

VfL Wolfsburg

8 points

Data from the article text