St. Pauli bounces back to hold Dortmund in six-goal thriller

BERLIN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- St. Pauli staged a dramatic late comeback to secure a 3-3 draw against Borussia Dortmund at the Millerntor on Saturday evening.

The host started brightly through summer signing Andreas Hountondji, only to be denied by a string of saves from BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. Dortmund gradually settled and struck first in the 34th minute when Serhou Guirassy powered Marcel Sabitzer's cross into the far corner.

Guirassy then missed a golden opportunity to double the lead from the penalty spot after Karim Adeyemi was brought down, as St. Pauli keeper Nikola Vasilj saved his effort. Despite Vasilj's heroics, the host trailed 1-0 at the break.

Five minutes into the second half, a cross from Daniel Sinani found Hountondji, who headed in to level the score. Dortmund regained the lead in the 67th minute when Waldemar Anton's strike deflected past Vasilj. Substitute Julian Brandt appeared to seal victory soon after with a smart finish from Pascal Gross' pass, but the game turned frantic in the dying moments.

Filippo Mane was sent off for a last-man foul on Ceesay, allowing Sinani to equalize from the penalty spot. Captain Eric Smith completed the comeback in spectacular fashion, firing a thunderous strike from distance in the 89th minute.

"That match had everything. It was a fantastic game for the fans. I can only compliment my team - even at 3-1 down we kept pushing and in the end we got our reward," said St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin.

"Over the 90 minutes we weren't as focused as I expect us to be. We didn't embrace the battle and have to settle for this point. None of us were at our best, and quite simply, we didn't deserve more," added Dortmund coach Niko Kovac.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim stunned Leverkusen 2-1 in Erik ten Hag's debut, Jean-Matteo Bahoya's brace fired Frankfurt past Bremen 4-1, Sandro Wagner enjoyed a winning start as Augsburg coach with a 3-1 victory over Freiburg, Union edged Stuttgart 2-1, and Wolfsburg overpowered Heidenheim 3-1. ■