Energie Cottbus and St Pauli played out a 1:1 draw in the sixth round of Germany's second division at the LEAG Energie Stadion on Sunday. The hosts took the lead through Justin Butler before a late equaliser from Martijn Kaars rescued a point for the visitors.
And here's the thing — the game shifted on its head around the twentieth minute when Tomoya Ando received a second yellow card for St Pauli. He had already been cautioned in the seventeenth, and his dismissal meant the visitors had to defend with ten men for much of the remainder.
Cottbus capitalised on the numerical advantage. Butler found space to slot home in the thirty-seventh minute, and the hosts began to control territory. St Pauli sat deeper, making 33 clearances compared to Cottbus's 11, while the visitors worked hard to stay in the game.
The visitors finally pulled level in the eightieth minute. Martijn Kaars scored to complete his comeback after coming on as a substitute, and the draw at least gave St Pauli something to show for their resilience. By then, both sides had made several changes, with Cottbus bringing on Leonardo Bittencourt and Lucas Copado in the sixty-second.
The statistics tell their own story. Cottbus dominated possession at 69 per cent and recorded 144 attacks against just 55 for St Pauli. They registered five shots on target with an expected goals tally of 1.12, yet failed to extend their lead. St Pauli's goalkeeper, Benjamin Alexander Voel, made four saves to keep the scoreline respectable.
The result leaves Cottbus seventh on eight points from six games, while St Pauli sit eighth with seven points. Both sides had won one, drawn four, and lost one of their previous matches before this fixture, and the draw keeps them uncomfortably close together in the table.
