Hamburg Derby Ends in Goalless Draw: St. Pauli vs. HSV

Bundesliga

As of: January 23, 2026 11:35 p.m

FC St. Pauli and HSV drew 0-0 in the 113th Hamburg city derby. In the Millerntor Stadium, which was sold out with 29,546 spectators, notable penalty area scenes were rare on Friday evening. Both teams remain in the bottom of the Bundesliga table.

by Hanno Bode

Especially for St. Pauli, which is in the A 2-0 win at HSV in the first half of the season celebrated, the draw was actually not enough. Coach Alexander Blessin’s team improved at least temporarily to 16th place, but could fall back to last place if 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Heidenheim win points. Despite their precarious position in the table, the home side did not invest enough in the game for a long time. It was only in the final phase that they had two good chances to score against the previously slightly better HSV.

St. Pauli coach Blessin: “Not enough came from us”

“In the end, you never know what the point is for. But it’s clear that everyone can read the table and that three points would have been very important for us because it was a direct duel and we would have liked to have gotten closer. Unfortunately, we missed that today,” said St. Pauli defender Hauke Wahl to NDR. Looking at the level of play in the game, he said: “It wasn’t a good derby.”

Wahl’s coach Alexander Blessin was even clearer. “I would have liked a little more vigor and gallantry,” said the 52-year-old. He freely admitted: “I’m angry because the game wasn’t good. Overall, there wasn’t enough of us today.”

“It wasn’t a good derby today.”

St. Pauli defender Hauke Wahl

The mood of HSV coach Merlin Polzin was completely different. “I have rarely seen such a performance by a Hamburg team here, in terms of the control and the carefree attitude to play the thing down here,” he enthused. His team showed a “controlled performance,” said the 35-year-old. What dampened his mood a little was just the bare result. Because: “There were enough chances that would have been enough to score a goal. There simply has to be more. These are the moments that you have to take advantage of in a derby. As far as the result is concerned, we are therefore disappointed today.”

No chances before the break – Pyrka with a header gap

Football highlights were few and far between in the duel between the Bundesliga’s two most unsuccessful attacking lines in the first half. Neither HSV (17 goals in the previous 17 games) nor St. Pauli (16 goals in 17 games) were able to deliberately carry the ball into the opponent’s half. Lots of cross and bad passes characterized the action – garnished with a few long balls to nowhere. Significant opportunities? There wasn’t!

A shot by visiting veteran Bakery Jatta from a narrow offside position, which keeper Nikola Vasilj was able to parry anyway (23′), as well as perhaps the strangest header attempt in derby history by Arkadiusz Pyrka were the only offensive scenes worth mentioning before the break.

St. Pauli’s right-back was completely free after a perfect cross from Mathias Pereira Lage in the 31st minute and would normally have easily put the ball into the goal from a few meters. But in this important game of all times, the 30-year-old completely lacked timing. He only jumped up when the playground equipment had already flown past him. The hole in the air that was previously only known in football after missing the ball with his foot, the Pole had headed it.

When Pyrka involuntarily achieved something strange, Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit’s working day had long since ended. The 19-year-old HSV attacker, who was somewhat surprising for Jean-Luc Dompé in the starting line-up, had to be substituted in the 14th minute. He hobbled off the pitch with his right ankle heavily bandaged. The reason: Adam Dzwigala had a hard start shortly before. The Pole received a yellow card for this, although it had a slight red tinge to it.

With the exception of this superfluous foul, which occurred at the halfway line, there were hardly any boundary violations in the duels. A very pleasing aspect in a city derby that was very unpleasant in terms of football before half-time. Anyone who wanted to find something positive about the teams’ performances over a non-alcoholic beer during the break (keyword: high-risk game) could enjoy their defensive performance.

Vuskovic with a great chance to take the HSV lead

The fans then had to wait a whopping 25 minutes for the second half to begin. The reason: the fans. Because supporters of both clubs set off pyrotechnics, so that thick fog passed through the Millerntor. When the view was clear again and the restart sounded, there was actually the first goal chance of the game. After a long corner kick, Luka Vuskovic was free to head the ball in the six-yard box, but his unplaced finish was denied by St. Pauli keeper Vasilj (54′).

The home team also tried to intensify their offensive game. Substituting the lightning-fast Ricky-Jade Jones for the ineffective Martijn Kaars also brought more dynamism to the neighborhood club’s game. However, St. Pauli found footballing solutions too rarely against the guests, who were very focused defensively.

St. Pauli is pushing for victory in the final phase

In the final phase, the home team increased the pressure and were suddenly very close to taking the lead. First, Danel Sinani failed with a shot at the far corner past HSV keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes (79th), shortly afterwards Pyrka found his match in the goalkeeper with a slightly too central finish (81st). There weren’t any more interesting goal area scenes. So in the end it was a fair draw.

“It might have been boring for the spectators. But getting a point here at St. Pauli isn’t bad either,” said HSV midfielder Nicolai Remberg. Ultimately, the clearer and his teammates preferred the sparrow in their hands to the pigeon on the roof on Friday evening. Not that surprising given an away record of three draws and six defeats in nine games.