The wind whipped across the pitch of the Alte Försterei, blowing the voices of the packed-out stadium around as the Union fans celebrated a hard-won point against St. Pauli. They had to fight for this, as could be seen by the grimace on the face of Andras Schäfer, the victim of two horrible challenges from the Pauli captain, Jackson Irvine, the second of which saw him sent off.

But though, strangely enough, they were the only two yellow cards to be seen throughout the game, this was a battle, a fight for league-existence for both sides, though the guests are by far the more imperilled. Union, of course, hadn't lost at home to Pauli in 15 years, and to get through this one, well, it was never going to be easy. 

Oliver Burke, marking his return to the starting eleven for the first time since Mönchengladbach, back in February, started off sharply, turning Karol Mats, the ball dropping over his shoulder, and clipping a cross into the middle for his partner up top, Andrej Ilić. Though just too high, it was a good sign, as Union pushed up high from the off, with Janik Haberer robbing Mathias Pereira Lage on the right, and Danilho Doekhi getting in ahead of Irvine in the centre circle.

Burke would hit 37km pre hour in one sprint later in the game, the fastest the league has seen this season, and both he and Ilić covered acres, selflessly running, all day long.

But, it was Doekhi who got the first shot off on target, forcing Nikola Vasilj to tip his vicious volley away. They were attacking up both flanks, and Derrick Köhn fed Andras Schäfer on the other side, his cross causing panic in the packed Pauli box as Leopold Querfeld attacked the ball with his head. Köhn, back from a personally successful, if not in terms of results, international break with Ghana, hit a gorgeous crossfield ball to Haberer, drawing a ripple of applause from the terraces.

Diogo Leite, making his own return to the side after a longer lay-off, took to it like a duck to water, picking Daniel Sinani’s pocket, as cool as you like, as Pauli entered the Union half for the first time. And when Perreira Lage set off to try and get on the end of a Vasilj long diagonal, Haberer was there to head it back to Rönnow with similarly little fuss.

The guests improved as the half wore on and had a big chance on 21 minutes when Mets was found near the edge of the box following a clever short free kick routine. Had he not scuffed his shot slightly, with time on his side, he could have caused Rönnow a problem as he scuttled back across goal.

They would then take the lead on 25 minutes as, following another set-piece, Pereira Lage hit a dropping ball rocketing past a helpless Rönnow from 25 yards. Though the goal didn’t necessarily feel deserved, it was an astonishing strike, hit crisply and very hard with perfect technique, his head perfectly still.

Stunned, Union redoubled their efforts. Vasilj had to tip a header from his teammate, Hauke Wahl, over the bar following Köhn’s next free kick. Querfeld saw his own header go wide from the resulting corner.  Ilić came closer still from another Köhn corner, this one from the right, rising in the box and heading the ball downwards, but Vasilj grabbed it at the second attempt on the line.

Then confusion; Rönnow didn’t get hold of his clearance, hitting it low, the ball crashing into referee, Tobias Welz. Sinani was fuming, flailing his arms, as play stopped for a drop ball, certain that the advantage should have gone his side’s way.

The rain now pouring down, Burke was set free again up the inside right channel, his cross reaching Jeong in the box. Though he made contact, the South Korean couldn’t turn it goalwards and was pulled up for a questionable foul on Adam Dzwigala as they both tried to get the ball under their control. The crowd didn’t like that one.

Vasilj then made a fine double stop, first as Köhn slipped Burke in having run in between Arkadiusz Pyrka and Mathias Rasmussen, then as Köhn, himself, followed up with a fine first-time shot that the keeper managed to punch away to safety.

Union kept up the pressure, with Jeong winning another corner, and Haberer getting clattered by Martijn Kaars, 25 yards out, just to the right of the D. Köhn took three steps back, stuttering in his run-up, but he couldn’t force Vasilj into a save as his free kick went over the bar. 

Steffen Baumgart sent his side out early for the second half, unchanged, and though it took a couple of minutes for the ball to seemingly come down from both teams’ lofted back and forths, the hosts made their first forays up the left, with Köhn and Leite overlapping, winning a free kick which ended up being cleared, if a little uncertainly, by Irvine for a corner.

This time they would make it count. Köhn whipped it in, high, where Ilić rose above everyone, flicking his header masterfully past Vasilj for the equaliser, and his second goal of the season.

The wind in their sails, and the crowd back in full voice, Oliver Burke raced up the pitch almost catching up with Mets, who had a good 20 metre head start, both of them looking to get to the next long ball forwards. He would almost get onto the end of a lovely Schäfer long ball five minutes later, flicked over his shoulder, but was penalised for a push on Mets.

But, in the fight of their lives for league safety, Pauli weren’t giving up easily, and Sinani gave a scare as he suddenly had space in the Union box but dragged his shot into the side netting. Pyrka bent his shot wide of the top corner not long after the hour mark.

The game was on a knife-edge, and the crowd were certain that Schäfer would score as, having robbed the ball off a sleeping Pauli defender, he darted through a gap, took a touch and was only denied by Vasilj’s stuck-out leg. The keeper then managed to get up in time to block Burke’s follow-up.

Union couldn’t quite find the final ball. Köhn bent one out of play from the left, Jeong did similarly from the right. That was to prove his final touch, as Baumgart replaced him with Alex Král in his first substitution of the day. Still, they piled forwards, but neither side could really get the ball down, and when Ilić finally got a pass with his back to goal, he was bundled over by Mets.

Burke and Köhn were off with ten minutes to go, replaced by Tom Rothe and Ilyas Ansah. With it, Union upped their pressure. Khedira, the goal-scorer the last times these sides met, tested Vasilj with a looping cross/shot in from the left, having switched it onto his weaker foot in a lovely shift of weight, sending his marker a mile the other way. Král, influential since his arrival, saw his drive blocked by the crowd now packing the Pauli box.

Irvine was booked for the first time for a late lunge on Schäfer, with the resulting free kick, taken by Haberer, headed goalwards by Rothe. But Vasilj was ready at his near post to catch it at head height without too much trouble. Khedira then flicked Ansah’s cross towards the back post, but it rolled agonisingly wide.

At the other end Doekhi reacted smartly to block Andreas Hountondji as the substitute turned to shoot. There were four minutes added on and Král was convinced that Irvine had touched the ball in the box with his hand as he flicked it up, trying to create the room to shoot. But the Australian would be off before time was up, getting his second yellow for another horrendous foul on Schäfer, leaving him in a heap, banging the pitch in agony. He was almost immediately joined in the changing room by his assistant coach, Peter Nemeth, who also saw red after getting after getting too worked up on the touchline.

At the final whistle Schäfer fell back to the floor, wincing. Helped up to his feet by Král, he made his way around the pitch for the lap of honour, but his pain had summed up the game. It had been a battle, and they had dragged back an excellent point.

Still, it had been worth it. The point could prove decisive, and Union still haven't lost at home to St. Pauli in a decade and a half. Whether they get a chance again next season, after this fascinating game, remains in the balance.

“You could see how we started. We were desperate to take the lead. Then St. Pauli scored a dream goal and went ahead. But that didn’t throw us off course; we went into the second half full of energy and pulled one back. We were desperate to score a second goal and take all three points here, but in the end we have to settle for a 1-1 draw."

“We were playing at home and naturally wanted to win the match. Still, it’s good that we didn’t lose. The first half was a bit tricky, especially after the goal, which came virtually out of nowhere. After the break, though, things improved and we had more chances." 

“It’s a partial success that we’re happy to take. Before the match, we would naturally have liked more, but that certainly applies to both sides. And when you’re trailing after a goal like that, you have to be careful not to concede another straight away. Nevertheless, the lads put in a good, clear performance; that was exactly how we wanted it.”