Poku provides punch off the bench as Leverkusen down St.Pauli

Leverkusen triumphed 2-1 in Hamburg this afternoon, but the hosts were first to cause trouble in the visitors’ box. Eric Smith’s header in the opening five minutes beat Mark Flekken but looped agonisingly wide of the target. St.Pauli looked to maintain their flow as Andreas Hountondji’s shot zipped over the bar but Badé’s slight block was a key deflection. 

Football is a game of moments and Leverkusen, despite being under the pump, epitomised that line when they snatched a 1-0 lead on 25 minutes. Alejandro Grimaldo’s freekick ricocheted and bounced up perfectly for Edmond Tapsoba to control and stab home from close range. 

It wasn’t long before the Millerntor-Stadion would be rocking once again. Seven minutes later, Flekken would spill a cross into the path of Hauke Wahl who hooked the ball over his head and past the scrambling Leverkusen defenders to equalise from a troublesome angle. 

Kasper Hjulmand introduced Equi Fernandez for Robert Andrich after the interval. It was hard for either side to find a foothold in the game until Grimaldo played a neat one-two with Patrick Schick before feeding Ernest Poku who placed his shot inside the post for 2-1 to the Rhinelanders. 

Martin Kaars was called upon by Alexander Blessin late on in a bid to salvage something in the final third of this fixture. However, it was Joel Fujita and Danel Sinani who tried their luck next, with the Luxembourg international’s spectacular effort well held by Flekken.

Die Werkself withstood the final push, which included a Eric Smith freekick, to claim a big win on the road. As for the Kiezkickers, they will feel their luck was out – they dominated the xG stats but that doesn’t always translate to goals.