St. Pauli held to 1:1 by Greuther Fürth in 2. Bundesliga season opener
Bundesliga relegated FC St. Pauli began their 2. Bundesliga campaign with a 1:1 draw against Greuther Fürth at the Millerntor-Stadion, with Marcus Mathisen's opener cancelled out by Felix Klaus's equalizer six minutes later.
Match overview
FC St. Pauli, relegated from the Bundesliga last season, opened their 2. Bundesliga 2026/27 campaign with a 1:1 draw against SpVgg Greuther Fürth at the Millerntor-Stadion in Hamburg on Sunday. The match, played before 29,218 spectators according to two sources (one source reports 29,128), marked the competitive debut of new St. Pauli head coach Marcel Rapp. Fürth, who only secured their second-division survival last season through a relegation playoff against Rot-Weiß Essen, earned what one source described as a deserved point.
The first half ended goalless despite chances at both ends. St. Pauli began with the possession-based approach Rapp demands, but the decisive final pass was often missing against a well-organised Fürth defence that kept their former captain Hrgota closely marked.
First-half chances
Martijn Kaars had the home side's first opportunity in the 13th minute, but his left-footed shot from around twelve meters was too weak and comfortably saved by Fürth goalkeeper Florian Hellstern. The 18-year-old Hellstern, one of five new signings in Fürth's starting eleven, also stretched to deny a header aimed at the far corner in the 25th minute.
Fürth grew increasingly dangerous on the counter-attack. Captain Felix Klaus, 33, had three clear chances before the break: a one-on-one in the 19th minute after a long ball from Shinta Appelkamp, a close-range effort in the 36th minute, and another shot in the 43rd minute. On each occasion, St. Pauli's new goalkeeper Ben Voll came out on top. Klaus sent a further effort just over the bar in the 44th minute.
Second-half goals
The deadlock broke 54 seconds after the restart. Branimir Hrgota, who had left Fürth in the summer after seven years to join St. Pauli, delivered a set-piece into the box that Marcus Mathisen headed in from five meters to give the home side a 1:0 lead. Three sources describe the delivery as a corner, while one reports it as a free-kick cross. Mathisen, another summer signing from 1. FC Magdeburg, found the left corner unchallenged.
Fürth's response came six minutes later. Klaus received a through-ball from Jannik Dehm, turned, and shot toward the left corner. Mathisen attempted to block but deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper into the right corner, levelling the score at 1:1 in the 52nd minute. The goal was credited to Klaus.
- Kaars shot from 12 meters saved by Hellstern
- Klaus one-on-one saved by Voll after Appelkamp long ball
- Hellstern stretches to deny a header aimed at the far corner
- Klaus close-range effort saved by Voll
- Klaus shot saved again by Voll
- Klaus shoots just over the bar
- Mathisen heads in from Hrgota set-piece, 1:0 St. Pauli
- Klaus equalizes via deflection off Mathisen, 1:1
- Kaars goal disallowed for offside
Late incidents and lineup notes
A St. Pauli goal by Kaars in the 56th minute (one source reports 57th) was correctly disallowed for offside. Referee Harm Osmers declined to award a penalty after a collision between Fürth's Jannis Heuer and St. Pauli's Ricky-Jade Jones in the box, a decision one source called debatable, noting the Fürth player was later to the aerial challenge.
Fürth coach Heiko Vogel fielded five debutants in his starting lineup: Hellstern (from Stuttgart), Krisztián Keresztes (from Nyíregyháza Spartacus), Heuer (from Münster), Ole Pohlmann (from Rio Ave), and Appelkamp (from Düsseldorf). St. Pauli's squad showed the effects of personnel turnover, with several regulars and leaders from last season departed, and the attacking play under Rapp appeared not yet fully refined. After the equalizer, the match flattened out as both teams felt the effects of high temperatures.
