EARLY DIAMANTAKOS STRIKE SEALS FLENSBURG WIN
Tuesday, 16. July 2019, 21:32 Uhr
FC St. Pauli secured a win in their penultimate warm-up game before the Bundesliga 2 campaign gets underway. The Boys in Brown won by a goal to nil at fourth-tier outfit SC Weiche Flensburg thanks to a seventh-minute strike from Dimitrios Diamantakos.
The Boys in Brown went into the game looking for a good performance before Saturday's dress rehearsal at Heerenveen. With this in mind, head coach Jos Luhukay opted for a 4-1-4-1 formation once again, with Brighton & Hove Albion triallist Leo Østigård starting in the back four. The first opportunity fell to Dimitrios Diamantakos in the third minute, but instead of going for goal he unselfishly tried to lay the ball off for Christian Conteh and the chance was gone. Just four minutes later the Greek striker made no mistake and netted to give his side an early lead.
Luhukay's side remained in control and though the home side kept probing, they rarely threatened Robin Himmelmann's goal. The Boys in Brown upped the tempo again towards the end of the half and came close to adding a second. Daniel Buballa found no takers when cutting the ball back from the byeline on 35 and Christian Conteh was a whisker offside following a fine pass from Finn Ole Becker.
The pattern remained much the same after the interval, with the Boys in Brown dominating the play and the ball. Mats Møller Dæhli produced a delicate lofted pass to set up Diamantakos on the hour. The frontman tried his luck with a lob but was unable to get the better of Weiche keeper Florian Kirschke. Luhukay's charges continued to dictate things but couldn't find the decisive finish. Serkan Dursun came on for his senior debut in the closing stages, joining his Under-19 teammate on the pitch. Five minutes from time the home side almost nicked an equaliser, only for Himmelmann to stick a foot out to seal a 1-0 victory for his colours.
SC Weiche Flensburg 08 (starting lineup)
Kirschke – Jürgensen, Paetow, Ibekwe, Isitan, Graudenz, Stöhr, Walter, Santos, Hartmann, Agyris
Head coach: Daniel Jurgeleit
FC St. Pauli
Himmelmann – Kalla (Bednarczyk 63'), Avevor (Lee 75'), Østigård (Hornschuh 75'), Buballa – Knoll – Miyaichi (Lankford 75'), Møller Dæhli (Sobota 63'), Becker (Buchtmann 75'), Conteh (Loubongo-M`Boungou 63') – Diamantakos (Dursun 75')
Cheftrainer: Jos Luhukay
Goal: 0-1 Diamantakos (7')
Photo: Oliver Ruhnke
