Jones nets equaliser as St. Pauli draw with Gladbach in friendly

Ricky-Jade Jones scored a superb equaliser to earn FC St. Pauli a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach. The match at Millerntor Stadium also marked an emotional return for former St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin, who was warmly applauded by the home supporters.

Blessin's return

Alexander Blessin, who kept FC St. Pauli in the Bundesliga during the 2024/2025 season, returned to Millerntor for the first time as an opponent. He arrived shortly before 3:30 pm on Saturday and was greeted with sustained applause. His successor in the St. Pauli dugout, Marcel Rapp, was once his teammate and changing room neighbour at SC Pfullendorf.

Match action

The visitors from Gladbach took an early lead. Tim Kleindienst headed Blessin's side in front in the 16th minute. St. Pauli pushed for a reply and had their best chance before the break when Martijn Kaars failed from close range. Shortly after the restart, Sam Klein struck the post. Goalkeeper Ben Voll later saved an effort from Fritz Fleck.

The deserved equaliser finally came from Ricky-Jade Jones. In the 75th minute, the striker expertly lobbed the ball over the opposing keeper from the right side of the box. "That was one of my best goals so far," Jones said after the final whistle. Head coach Marcel Rapp was pleased with the performance: "It was a good test. We had to fight our way into the game against a strong opponent and had more of the play during the first half. The second half then belonged to us. That's why I'm very satisfied."

League context

The draw follows a run of shared points in the 2. Bundesliga. FC St. Pauli sit eighth in the table with seven points from six matches, having scored eight goals and conceded eight. Under coach Marcel Rapp, the team has shared the points in each of its last three league games, drawing with Hansa Rostock (1:1), 1. FC Nürnberg (1:1), and most recently Fortuna Düsseldorf (2:2).

Next up is a home fixture against Karlsruher SC on 11 October, with Karlsruhe currently in 14th place. Blessin, meanwhile, faces his next test with Gladbach in the Rhine derby against 1. FC Köln on the same day.

First reported at ndr.de