By Regan Horn@horn_regan

2. Bundesliga: St. Pauli come from behind twice to draw away to Arminia Bielefeld

Arminia Bielefeld and St. Pauli played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the SchücoArena this evening.

Arminia Bielefeld and St. Pauli drew 2-2 this evening	Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images

Despite dominating for large periods of the game, St. Pauli were unable to secure all three points as defensive lapses proved costly yet again. Jannik Rochelt put the hosts ahead before Taichi Hara quickly restored parity. Joel Grodowski then put Arminia back in front early in the second half, but substitute Abdoulie Ceesay’s 65th-minute strike ensured the visitors left with a point.

St. Pauli made a positive, fast and physical start, with Arminia struggling to play their way out of their own half during the opening ten minutes. Against the run of play, however, the home side took the lead after just 13 minutes.

A defensive lapse from Marcel Rapp’s side allowed Jonas Kersken’s goal kick to sail over the St. Pauli defence, with Rochelt latching onto the ball and racing through with only the goalkeeper to beat. The winger calmly lifted the ball over Ben Voll to give Arminia a 1-0 lead.

The visitors continued to dominate possession and refused to be deterred, finding an equaliser just seven minutes later. This time, it was a defensive lapse from the hosts that proved costly, as David Nemeth won the ball back before playing Hara through. The Japanese forward found himself unmarked inside the area and calmly slotted past Kersken to level the scores.

Arminia thought they had regained the lead with less than ten minutes of the first half remaining when Marvin Mehlem found the net. However, the goal was immediately ruled out after Monju Momuluh was adjudged to have fouled Nemeth in the build-up, ensuring the sides went into the break level.

The home side made a dream start to the second half, regaining the lead after just six minutes. Rochelt’s free-kick was only half-cleared and fell straight into the path of Grodowski on the edge of the area. After controlling the ball on his chest, he unleashed a fierce strike that found its way past Voll via a deflection to make it 2-1.

Just as in the first half, St. Pauli responded quickly after conceding and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 65th minute. Arkadiusz Pyrka drove down the right before delivering a perfectly weighted ball into the path of half-time substitute Ceesay, who nipped in ahead of Kersken and flicked the ball into the near corner to make it 2-2.

The visitors remained on top following their equaliser, but a third goal proved elusive as the Bielefeld defence stood firm. As the clock ticked down and three minutes of added time were signalled, neither side could find a decisive opening, with both ultimately forced to settle for a point.