Irvine faces last-day survival drama with St Pauli
Jackson Irvine and his St Pauli side will face a do-or-die last-day clash against Wolfsburg next week that could determine their future in the Bundesliga after a 2-1 to RB Leipzig.
It was the third straight loss for the Australia international's side, leaving it second from bottom on the table and under threat of relegation.
Equal on 26 points with the Wolves, which sits one place above after its own defeat to champion Bayern Munich, next week's clash at Pauli's Millentor Stadium will be one not to miss, with the winner having a second chance at survival via the relegation play-off with the third placed team from 2. Bundesliga, which is an equally tight battle.
Leipzig, meanwhile, sealed its place in next season's UEFA Champions League with the three points for this win, guaranteeing itself a third-place finish behind Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, which sealed second placed after beating Eintracht Frankfurt this weekend.
Irvine almost gifted the hosts an early opener when he surrendered possession on the edge of his own area in the eighth minute, but the subsequent chance was fluffed on the line by Ridle Baku, much to the relief of the Socceroos star.
St Pauli should have gone ahead just after the half-hour mark when Martijn Kaars was fed the ball unmarked by Andreas Hountondji, but he blasted his shot against the crossbar, and it bounced away to safety for Leipzig.
It proved a costly miss as Xaver Schlager put Leipzig ahead just before half-time when he swivelled inside the box and blasted the ball into the roof of the net after Pauli failed to clear a corner.
Leipzig hit the post fewer than 10 minutes into the second half after Irvine again lost out in midfield, but the hosts doubled their lead from the resulting corner, Willi Orban heading home decisively.
Irvine did, however, provide an assist for substitute Abdoulie Ceesay, who scored for the second straight match after latching on to the Australian's deft header forward.
But with only four minutes left of the 90 minutes to play at that point, it proved to be too little too late for the now desperate Boys in Brown.
St Pauli must now win against Wolfsburg next week to avoid relegation and take the play-off spot, but the Wolves will be equally desperate for to win as defeat would leave them suffering the same fate, all making for the prospect of an epic encounter next weekend.
