St Pauli 1-1 Ingolstadt

TWO goals in the space of a minute shortly after the start of the second half allowed this quality-lacking 2. Bundesliga contest between St Pauli and Ingolstadt to finish level. While the home side did most of the attacking, with Ingolstadt looking to play on the break, consistently terrible finishing and woeful passing in the final-third cost St Pauli any hope of winning this game. They fell behind in the 55th minute when the lively Caiuby crossed for Christian Eigler to score at the near post. A minute later, though, Ingolstadt ruined all the good work they had done defensively up to that point by allowing home debutant Florian Moht a free header to make it 1-1. Coach Tomas Oral seemingly played for a point at the Millerntor-Stadion, so will probably be happier than his opposite number André Schubert, who has already stated his intention to bring more quality players to St Pauli before the transfer window closes. His side and Oral’s have now drawn both of their 2012/13 2. Bundesliga games, and the two coaches will be hoping ties against regional sides in the cup next weekend will give their respective players a chance to sample what winning feels like.

Match preview here.

Starting formations

St Pauli (4-4-2, from right to left, brown shirts): Philipp Tschauner; Jan-Philipp Kalla, Florian Mohr, Markus Thorandt, Florian Kringe; Florian Bruns, Dennis Daube, Fabian Boll, Fin Bartels; Marius Ebbers, Lennart Thy

Ingolstadt (4-4-2, from right to left, white shirts): Ramazan Özcan; Danny da Costa, Marino Biliškov, Ralph Gunesch, Andreas Schäfer; Stefan Leitl, Marvin Matip, Pascal Groβ, Ümit Korkmaz; Caiuby, Christian Eigler

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St Pauli-Ingolstadt preview

INGOLSTADT will attempt to bounce back from throwing away a two-goal lead on the opening day of the 2012/13 2. Bundesliga season as they travel to St Pauli this weekend. Both teams have made significant changes to their squads over the summer, meaning that the scouts from either club will have had their work cut out preparing dossiers for their respective team’s coaches this weekend. Only four of the players who started in St Pauli’s final game of the 2011/12 season featured in last Friday’s 0-0 draw at Aue, for instance.

It was a familiar face, though, who fired Ingolstadt into a 2-0 lead against Energie Cottbus last weekend, as club stalwart Stefan Leitl’s brace gave his side what appeared to be an insurmountable cushion going into the final ten minutes. However, Boubacar Sanogo pounced twice in the closing stages to earn a point for Cottbus, amid some questionable defending from the home side.

Union Berlin 4-1 Ingolstadt

The general first half formations. In the closing stages, the home side 2-1 ahead, Ingolstadt adopted more of a 4-4-2 diamond, while Union deployed a 4-1-3-2 Edson Buddle started the game, but limped off early on through injury.

Union Berlin moved back into the top half of the 2. Bundesliga table after a hard-working and clinical performance against Ingolstadt saw them come from behind to win comfortably. Ingolstadt lacked invention in the final-third until it was too late, and the quality of their crosses left a lot to be desired throughout. But while not necessarily inventive, Union had several players capable of making incisions in their Bavarian opponents’ rearguard, and notched up their third victory in the space of an international football-interruped month.

Match preview here.

Union started the game with confidence, waiting for the right moment to send Patrick Kohlmann down the channel, before the former Irish U21 international used the good holding technique of Colombian striker John Jairo Mosquera to collect a return pass and feed Silvio. The Brazilian showed strength to retain possession in the box, and teed up Mosquera for a – wayward – shot. Ingolstadt were focused on sitting off from their urgent and occasionally direct hosts in a compact 4-4-1-1 (Buddle dropping deeper than Moritz Hartmann). They only pressed in their own half, and as a result, managed to limit the waves of Union attacks to scant consolation prizes such as the odd final-third throw-in or scuffed long-range efforts wide of the target.

Silvio was the key man for the Berlin side, as the Brazilian looked to bob between the Ingolstadt defence and midfield banks to collect passes, as well as occasionally making last-shoulder runs while standing on a centre-back.

Union Berlin-Ingolstadt preview

Matchday seven of the 2011/12 2. Bundesliga season pits together two of Berlin and Bavaria’s smaller sides. Ingolstadt have had the more iffy start to the new campaign, taking five points from a possible 18 – two less than Union. But, although tomorrow’s hosts have won two of their three league games played at the 18,000-seater Stadion An der Alten Försterei, they were thrashed at home on the opening day of the new season by another Bavarian side, Fürth. Added to that, Ingolstadt coach Benno Möhlmann can take heart from the fact that it was only an 87th minute equalizer by Karim Benyamina that denied his side all three points when the two teams last met in a competitive game (April 24).

Fortuna Düsseldorf 4-1 FC Ingolstadt

The first half formations, as Ingolstadt forcefully imposed their system and tactics on the game.

Fortuna Düsseldorf overcame 43 minutes of being outclassed by a seemingly inferior 2. Bundesliga opponent to secure what was in the end a comfortable victory. Despite bossing the majority of the first half with their risky attacking play and high defensive line, Ingolstadt paid the price for not taking their chances. After taking the lead seconds before the interval, Fortuna then had the relatively simple task of picking off their crestfallen guests on the break in the second half.

Match preview here 

The match began in a competitive manner, each sides giving as good as they got. Therefore, we saw a number of half chances as formations were temporarily abandoned, Andreas Buchner and Max Beister, cutting in from the wings for the away and home side respectively, probably seeing the clearest openings of goal in the opening five minutes.

Fortuna Düsseldorf-FC Ingolstadt preview

The 2. Bundesliga season continues this week with Fortuna Düsseldorf and FC Ingolstadt helping to get the action under way at the Esprit-Arena on Friday evening. The last time the sides met was a league game back in February, Fortuna winning 3-1.

The hosts have had a mixed start to the season, beating Bochum 2-0 with a commanding performance in their first game, before drawing away at Paderborn thanks to a sloppy performance. However, Düsseldorf then redeemed themselves by knocking KSV Hessen Kassel out of the DFB-Pokal last weekend. Despite that glut of goals, you wonder if coach Norbert Meier’s biggest problem last season, the lack of a goal-scorer, has now been resolved.