2. Bundesliga: Kiel strike late to complete comeback and salvage point against St. Pauli

Holstein Kiel and St. Pauli played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on Friday evening.

Photo by Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images

After finding themselves two goals down at the break thanks to strikes from Martijn Kaars and Taichi Hara, Kiel rallied in the second half to snatch a point through goals from Phil Harres and Jonas Therkelsen.

St. Pauli were gifted the first big chance just a few minutes in after the Kiel defence failed to deal with a routine through ball, allowing Kaars to race through clean on goal. Timon Weiner came off his line well and made himself big to deny the Dutch forward, providing an early warning for the hosts.

Kiel appeared to ramp up the pressure after that, pressing well and making life difficult for St. Pauli, who struggled to get a foothold in the game during the opening 20 minutes.

However, against the run of play, St. Pauli took the lead in the 32nd minute. Another attempted through ball caused all sorts of problems for the Kiel defence, with a clearance deflecting off a teammate and falling straight into Kaars’ path. This time, the forward made no mistake, slotting past the onrushing Weiner from inside the area to make it 1-0.

Kiel continued to create chances but lacked the necessary clinical edge in the final third despite repeatedly finding themselves in promising positions. Their failure to convert proved costly as St. Pauli delivered another blow in first-half stoppage time.

Another lapse in concentration from the Kiel defence saw David Zec caught in possession on the left side of his own box by Arkadiusz Pyrka. The wing-back drove into the area before squaring for Hara, who tapped into an empty net to score his first goal for the Kiezkicker and send the visitors into the break 2-0 up.

Despite being two goals down, Kiel resumed the second half in similar fashion, continuing to look the more dangerous of the two sides. They finally got their reward ten minutes after the restart when a fine cross from Alexander Bernhardsson found Harres, who rose above two St. Pauli defenders and goalkeeper Voll to head home and halve the deficit.

St. Pauli looked certain to restore their two-goal advantage just six minutes later after a fantastic deep cross from the right found Kaars completely unmarked at the back post. The forward directed a header towards goal, only for Weiner to produce a superb reflex save to keep the score at 2-1.

With the clock ticking down and it looking increasingly like it was not going to be Kiel’s day, the hosts finally grabbed an equaliser in the 88th minute to break St. Pauli hearts. A cross into the box was only half-cleared by the defence, allowing Therkelsen to pounce and tap home to rescue a point for Kiel at 2-2.