Usually one of the highlights of the season was left sour this time around.  A nice away block, a little bit of needle, abuse from home and away supporters across the segregation (we’ll try to forget the dickhead doing the Hitler salutes), a loud atmosphere.

Yet this time around, you realised that the little tanks, water cannons, police on every corner, and black mariahs everywhere, is really just a few toys out on show.  It would be easier to police if they just provided away supporters parking, rather than the ludicrous shuttle bus system.  And fucking Trojan, who used to be the one hint of creativity in some of our mediocre years, now running the show for Dresden.  Yet we still managed to take a two goal lead.  3 points and we could’ve put the fear of relegation to bed.  Yet with about 30 minutes still to play, there was always time to ruin things.  Even those who’ve not been following Sankt Pauli for very long, can still probably thing of at least one occasion when we’ve thrown a game away with about 10 minutes to spare.  So what crossed peoples minds to start taunting the Dynamo fans with “Absteiger” (you’re gonna get relegated) with so much time left to play is beyond me.  It was almost certainly going to backfire.

Trojan turned the game.  A superb overhead kick.  After that, we started to wobble and there was only going to be one winner.  Whereas up till then, the atmosphere had been superb from our end, people started to wander off.  Distractions towards the back of the stand, seemed to many, more important than spurring the team on.  Such a shame.

We now find ourselves firmly in a relegation battle.  Less pissing about in sunglasses (on the greyest of days), and every man, woman and child yelling, chanting and singing the team to safety is whats now needed.

A special mention for the ref, who was tremendous, ignoring every dive by either side to keep the match flowing.  Also to the girls and boys from RSC who made the trip much more fun.

Weekend trip to Dresden:

Ahead of our match with Dynamo Dresden in the summer, I headed east for a weekend to discuss plans and preparations with the fans there.  Here are a few pictures taken from the trip.  More about my excursion will no doubt follow in the match day programme at a later date or on here.

FC Sankt Pauli 3 – 2 SG Dynamo Dresden:

Ah these Smartphones are a curse!  It’s bad enough that my one doesn’t work anywhere near the Millerntor, it also updates the time automatically.  So there I was at a party on the Saturday night thinking I’d get an extra hour in bed due to daylight saving time.  Yes it would still only be 4 hours kip, but that’s better than three.  I reached for another beer, completely unaware that my evil phone had already updated the time, my extra hour in bed already gone.  As a result of this, my alarm the next morning brought a mix of horror and a crushing pain in the head.  I grumpily trudged to the trainstation, my mood only brightened later by a mixture of the winter sun over Münsterland and several McMuffins for breakfast in Osnabrück.  From there, I was chauffeured by Mr & Mrs Spekulatius in their flash new motor.  We arrived in sunny Hamburg in record time.

The several hours before the match were spent hanging around the Fanladen, catching up with friends and nursing a bottle of Club Mate.  My “find of the decade”, a wonderfully garish, Berghaus Trango Extreme Jacket on Ebay for 40 quid, did wonders in keeping the cold out too.

A cup of tea on the terrace whilst the place filled up, and suddenly it was time for kick off.  From our side there was a banner, mixed coloured balloons and then a tillroll display (which most of us, managed to throw at the right time).  From the Dresden fans came an impressive mosaic display.  First “the ugly face of football” in white with the DFB logo.  Then a celebration of Dynamo in yellow cards, with a little yellow smoke to boot.  The atmosphere at both ends (although shamefully absent along the sides) was very good.

Within 30 minutes we found ourselves 2-0 down. Despite the later accusation that West Germans are “runners”, our defenders were outpaced by Dynamo time and time again.  I was sure that we would finish around 4 goals down.  Without making a change, though gradually, we became more organised, and just before half time, Boll pulled one back.

In the second half, I was mostly distracted until our equaliser.  The Dynamo fans were trying to unfurl a banner, with all the aplomb of a freshers student changing his bedsheets for the first time in his life.  Upside down, the wrong way around, half caught on a fence.  They had just about got the thing sorted, when we equalised, at which point they took it back down.  Finally the banner was up.  Aimed at Hannover 96, it said something like “Wessischweine haben lange Beine” (“West German bastards are runners” essentially).  Around the same time, we split the Sudkurve between left and rightside for one chant.  Obviously abuse of the other side goes without saying.  So as soon as the left side began to show some signs of life, we all chanted “WESSISCHWEINE!  WESSICHWEINE!” :-D

I didn’t even see the winner.  A flag was in the way.  I just saw how the Gegengerade sort of dipped in anticipation and then the roar went up.  Pandemonium in our end!  2-0 down, 3-2 up!  Amazing!  After that the atmosphere went up a notch once more.  Balooning about and singing until out of breath.  The Ref made a couple of poor calls, and Dynamo still threatened through their skillful forward line, but we kept calm and held tight.  The sense of relief at the final whistle was incredible.  Finally 3 points!

After the match, we went on the march in protest at the recent banning orders against fans, which included unnecessary “Billy big bollocks” behaviour from the cops and a little red smoke.  Then it was back to car, and , despite a little reluctance to leave, the journey home.  

SG Dynamo Dresden 1 – 0 FC St Pauli:

So after a day’s sun and relaxation, it was finally time for the match.  Most St Pauli fans were arriving by football special at the main train station, and it was likely that they would then be escorted by the police to the ground.  This represented a problem for the rest of us, as we needed to somehow get through the police lines, without being spotted by any Dresden fans looking for a fight. 

I got to the train station early and dropped off my bag, before going to a nearby cafe for breakfast.  As I finished my coffee more fans and police had started to mill about.  This included several water cannons and a little tank.  Unsure of which platform the football special would arrive on, I picked up a couple of magazines and went and waited in the station.  It appeared that there was a small “welcoming committee”, including some of our friends from the previous night.  Occasionally looking up from my magazine, I saw a few other familiar faces in non-football colours, obviously with a similar plan to myself.  Shortly before the train arrived, we saw a section where the police were lining up.  We quickly moved up the steps to the platform there and, low and behold, arrived just as the St Pauli train came into the station.

Now re-unified with the rest of the away supporters, we were then escorted down another flight of stairs and into a tunnel where buses waited for us.  With the ground being so nearby, and the weather looking so nice, most of us walked on by, hoping to force the police into allowing us to travel on foot.  Unfortunately though the numbers weren’t large enough, and the riot cops eventually pushed us back and onto the buses.

Things were more chaotic at the ground itself.  The buses dropped us off, but there was no one working the gates, so we were penned in.  A bit later, stewards turned up and the lengthy procedure for getting into the ground began.  I had wondered why it was all taking so long, but I soon found out why.  In order to get in, you had to show your ticket and be frisked.  Then if you were unlucky, like me, you had to wait for a sniffer dog to inspect you for explosives.  Then your ticket was checked once more and you were frisked again.  My bag was then looked through, after which the bag had to be checked in at a cloakroom anyway.  Suntan lotion is a security risk!

Once inside the ground, I took up a spot near the fence to the home supporters.  As is often the case, this section of the home crowd is populated exclusively by halfbakes.  In this case ’roided up and keen to make eye contact, or indeed Hitler salutes. 

As the game kicked off, our end delayed the usual singing of “Aux Armes”, and instead we all crossed our wrists and chanted “Diffidati con noi”.  This was in protest at the German FA handing out bans to fans who were merely defending themselves, and other fans, against nazis at the Schweinske Cup.  In the home end, the fans did that thing that sadly to most people will be simply known as the “poznan”.  It should look impressive when a whole terrace turns its back to the pitch and jumps up and down.  Unfortunately though, it now just looks a bit plastic and reminds me of Berties, in the ill-fitting replica shirts, bouncing up and down.

The Dresden end, was in fact, slightly odd.  For some periods of the game, it appeared to be completely silent.  I was beginning to wonder whether yet another famous fanscene (like Eintracht Frankfurt) would disappoint.  However when they did sing, it was very loud indeed.  Despite a lot of streamers, there was no choreo.  Then part way through the first half, a collossal “surfer” flag was suddenly passed out, covering the whole of their end.  Handpainted, in great detail, and just used at random, part way through a match.  I don’t think it was only me, who’s jaw dropped.  Very impressive!

Our own end also looked very good, with one lad, climbing on to a ledge in the middle.  Nothing gives a terrace more depth, than someone standing at a different height.  The photos of it look brillant!  We also were in pretty good voice, despite everyone sweating buckets and having to go and get more water from the taps in the bogs at regular intervals.

There were a few “transpis”/papermills aimed at us St Pauli fans.  No doubt they are only aimed to provoke.  Some though were so backwards, I would’ve expected them from some small town like Chemnitz, but not the fans of an important city like Dresden.  Surely some of their own fans must cringe when reading them.

Despite the weather, the match was pretty entertaining.  We hit the bar once, but Dresden probably deserved their second –half goal (even if Zambrano should have cleared it).  We were good for a point, but a stunning save by Dynamo’s goalkeeper foiled us.

With the defeat, there is little chance of us making the play-off.  Nevertheless, we clapped the team off, before heading for the buses.  Once back at the station, I slipped out through the police lines once more, and caught my train back home.

Random Streetart & Graffitis in Dresden:

Mostly SGD related…