St. Pauli’s battle to avoid relegation going down to the wire with four finals to play
Luca Waldschmidt’s late penalty in St. Pauli’s draw against Cologne on Friday night felt like a real hammer blow for Die Kiezkicker as they lost ground on their relegation rivals. However, with four games remaining, captain Jackson Irvine still believes they are in control of their own fate and could yet even finish above the relegation play-off position.
With Pauli dropping vital points at the weekend and Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg both winning, Die Kiezkicker are suddenly looking in a very precarious position. They currently sit 16th in the table, occupying the relegation play-off spot, five points off guaranteed safety and now just two above the automatic relegation positions as a result of Wolfsburg’s win.
Not everything is doom and gloom, however, as Pauli’s remaining four fixtures offer them some real opportunities to pick up points. They head to bottom of the table Heidenheim next, where a win for Pauli would see Heidenheim relegated to Bundesliga 2. Meanwhile, many of Pauli’s relegation rivals face tough fixtures against teams chasing UEFA Champions League football.
Watch: St. Pauli 1-1 Cologne - highlights
After that, Pauli host Mainz, a side they picked up a point against away from home earlier in the season. Although RB Leipzig away in the penultimate game of the season looks a tough ask, a final-day showdown against Wolfsburg could yet prove to be a winner-takes-all game. Victory for either side could quite conceivably be the difference between automatic relegation and a second chance via the play-off.
Pauli’s next couple of games offer them a real chance to build up some momentum for the fixtures against Leipzig and Wolfsburg, and they have a history this season of putting together short bursts of good results.
Alexander Blessin's side won two of their first three matches to start the season, whilst also producing an impressive comeback draw against Borussia Dortmund.
Between Matchdays 23 and 25, they also picked up seven points from three games, including an impressive away win against Hoffenheim. A similar run in Pauli’s next three could conceivably see them reel in one or two of the teams directly above them.
Club captain Irvine also remains optimistic despite dropping points against Cologne.
“On the one hand, it’s obviously a setback, but on the other, we played well,” he said.
“We looked like the team we want to be again. We can win all four of our remaining games. A few lads are coming back, and if we can finish the season with a full squad on the pitch, I’ve got a good feeling about it.”
Watch: Hoffenheim 0-1 St. Pauli - highlights
Most importantly for Pauli, they still have their fate in their own hands, and if they can string together some big performances, they may yet maintain their Bundesliga status for another season. You have to go back to the end of the 1980s for the only previous time the Hamburg club have managed three consecutive campaigns in the top flight.
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