Irvine leads St Pauli to upset derby victory
Australia's Jackson Irvine celebrated signing his new deal with St Pauli by leading his side to a 3-0 win in the derby over Hamburger SV on Saturday (AEDT).
The Socceroos star assisted the second of Pauli's three goals, cutting the ball back for Marcel Hartel to sweep home in the 74th minute as the 2. Bundesliga leader was torn apart in the second half.
Irvine signed an extension to his contract with the Hamburg club on Thursday and was fit to play after recovering sufficiently from a nasty cut received in the 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Braunschweig last week.
The 29-year-old from Melbourne, who is the team's captain, took to the field with a large black pad stuck to his right cheekbone, but it did little to hamper him as he led the hosts to a derby delight, leaving Hamburger SV facing the prospect of losing top spot in the league by the end of the day.
The visitors had been reduced to 10 men in the first half when Sebastian Schonlau was sent off in the 28th minute for committing a foul as the last defender, receiving the earliest red card of this season.
Hartel's strike was bookended by goals from Eric Smith and David Otto as Pauli took complete control of the match in the second half, having struck the post earlier as the first period was winding down.
Second-placed Darmstadt, which is just a point behind in second, plays sixth-placed Karlsruher and win would send it to the summit. Meanwhile, Paderborn, the highest scorer in 2. Bundesliga, could push HSV further down the pecking order into third if Darmstadt wins and if it beats Sandhausen.
Irvine's St Pauli, meanwhile, sits 10th on the table after a stuttering start to the campaign. Victory over Hamburg came as a surprise to most pundits and was only the club's third win of the season, with five draws and four defeats.
