FC St. Pauli are chasing an unwanted piece of Bundesliga 2 history. Following their 0-0 draw at Darmstadt 98 last weekend, the second-division side have now drawn six of their nine league games this season, the highest rate in the league's history since the introduction of the three-point rule in 1995. With 12 points, the team sits seventh in the 2. Bundesliga after nine games, with a record of two wins, six draws and one defeat.
Head coach Marcel Rapp saw the match as a reflection of their entire campaign so far. "We created too few chances from our dominance," the coach said after the goalless draw. Striker Martijn Kaars summed up the frustration. "Again not lost, again not won," was his brief assessment. The last result was the 0-0 draw at SV Darmstadt 98 on Friday, 23 October.
Historical Comparisons
The current draw rate of 67 percent surpasses all previous marks. The existing record for a full season is 16 draws in 34 matches, set by various clubs. St. Pauli themselves drew nine times in their promotion-winning 2001 season, which was then a positive record for a champion. In the 2000 season, 15 points from draws even secured survival. The current run of five consecutive away draws shows the issue of converting dominance into wins.
Current Situation and Outlook
With 12 points from nine matches, St. Pauli currently sit seventh in the standings. Their record reads two wins, six draws and one defeat. Goalkeeper Ben Voll kept his third clean sheet of the season against Darmstadt, but the cutting edge up front is missing. With 11 goals scored and nine conceded, the goal difference is minimal. Top scorer is Abdoulie Ceesay with four goals. The team is unbeaten in their last five league games, but managed only one win and four draws during that run. This sequence includes the results 0-0 at Darmstadt, 1-1 at Hannover, 2-0 against Karlsruhe, 1-1 against Mönchengladbach and 1-1 at Cottbus. In that run, Abdoulie Ceesay scored the equaliser in first-half stoppage time during the 1-1 draw at Hannover on Saturday, 17 October.
The next opportunity to break the negative trend comes on Saturday, 31 October with a home game against current second-placed side 1. FC Nürnberg. A look at the fixtures shows further tough tasks in the coming weeks. To keep pace with the promotion places, dominance must finally start yielding three points. The gap to league leaders Hertha BSC already stands at 13 points.
First reported at mopo.de
