Right. Astro, "to hit the nail on the head" is a common expression in English, too. Sorry, Jack, but it's amazing how they managed to get over 8 minutes of "highlights" from the game, which was as good as the weather (hail, hail
).
Actually, the first half was dry, apart from the odd drop of rain, then in the break the sleet came on, then stopped for a while and then a bit after that there was this fine hail, the size of sand grains, which was better because it bounced off before it could soak in. And at least it wasn't too windy. Oh yeah, football.
Ebbers was back as the lone forward in a 4-2-3-1 formation in a match which saw the two trainers, Stani and Thorsten Fink, face each other for the first time in a league game since The Night We Beat Bayern, when both were on the pitch (although Fink was taken off after an hour on that occasion
).
It might have looked like an overly defensive formation, but Ingolstadt had beaten Mainz away 3-0, so Stani wasn't taking any chances (a bit like both teams), and for the first 30 minutes or so, the ball was in our half a lot more than in theirs. Luckily, Ingolstadt showed no signs of being able to score their first goal in 3 matches; I can only remember one occasion in the first half where Hain actually had to make a serious save.
Then we started to get a bit more into the game. A Ludwig shot from 20 yards was deflected by Ebbers, but Lutz managed to get his left hand to it and pushed it out for a corner. Then we played a nice counter down the left, with Ludwig sending Bruns on a run, and his cross got to Trojan, who had enough time and space to control it, but decided instead to take it first time, and the shot went miles over.
Overall, it was a lousy game, which didn't deserve a winner. We were good at the back - after the lead there was none of this ohmygodwemustscoreasecond feeling which we've all got used to, as Ingolstadt were harmless up front, but then again, so were we. Some of the combinations were great, until we got to shooting distance, then the passes went straight to the opponent or the shots a mile wide. Sunday football at its "best".
OK, the 2nd half was slightly better, but it was a very dodgy decision just before half time that got us the winner, and even though Ingolstadt picked up 6 yellows in the course of the game, this is not boxing. You don't win on points.
Rothenbach took a throw-in from the right, 30 yards out in the 44th minute to Schultz, who played a blind pass left which Ludwig just managed to get to ahead of 2 Ingolstadters. He sent it back to the right to Schultz on the 18-yard line. Schultz ran in, laid the ball onto the right (left) foot and shot from 12 yards. Neunaber was about 10 feet away and sliding in to block the shot, which bounced off his right elbow. His arm was held high, but that's not a unnatural position when you're sliding to block, and there was no indication that the arm went to the ball. At that distance, it's nearly impossible to react so quickly.
But the referee(pbuh) hesitated a couple of seconds, probably waiting for advantage, and then pointed to the spot - a harsh decision, definitely. Ludwig's penatly kick wasn't very well placed, but sent Lutz the wrong way. So
The second half, as said, was a bit better, and we had a lot more chances, while Ingolstadt seemed to have very little to reply with. They did get the ball in the net once, but that was clearly offside.
A shot from Ludwig looked promising until it hit Trojan in the nuts
, but Filip recovered enough to try another cheeky lob over Lutz, which also went over the bar, although Lutz wasn't so far off his line that he wouldn't have got to it anyway.
Ludwig and Ebbers came off in the 76th minute for Brunnemann and Hennings, with St. Pauli still pressing for the 2-0 (which would have made it less embarrassing), but it was Eger who had probably the best chance of the 2nd half, latching on to the ball just outside the Ingolstadt penalty area and sending a shot to the top right of the goal. Lutz pulled off a great save to send it for another corner.
Weigelt came on for Trojan in the 88th minute, which presumably means Kalla was "promoted" to midfield from then on, unless we were playing with a back five(!). It has to be said, Kalla is getting better from game to game. He was originally only brought in at left back because of a lack of alternatives due to injuries, etc., but he's now established himself in the first team, which is good news.
Of course, having said that, he'll probably fuck up against Koblenz.
Anyway, the game eventually ended, and the 3 points were in the bag. We're in a better situation now than at this point last season, with two opponents from the lower regions of the league still to play before the winter break. 28 points by then looks a real possibility, perhaps even 30, as long as we don't play the sort of football we did on Sunday. We
are better than that.
Thanks to Welf for the pre-match beers in the Jolly - it was nice to meet up at last.
St. Pauli - better than Ingolstadt, not as good as Freiburg.
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