Wolfsburg earn stay of execution in Bundesliga after vital win sends St Pauli down

St Pauli, Heidenheim and Wolfsburg all entered a tense final matchday level on points - a first in 63 seasons of Bundesliga action.

All three teams were out to clinch a place in the play-off, the spot that the visitors occupied at the start of proceedings.

The two sides made an understandably conservative start until the contest burst into life midway through the first period when Joel Fujita rattled the underside of the crossbar before Adam Daghim broke away to force Nikola Vasilj into a smart reaction stop.

Daghim experienced more frustration when he was denied by a combination of Vasilj’s reflexes and the crossbar from the subsequent set-piece.

Vasilj continued his battle with Daghim in the latter stages of a gripping first period, deflecting the ball behind from a near-post effort.

However, the goalkeeper got trapped on his line from the resulting corner, as Konstantinos Koulierakis glanced the ball home to score in a second consecutive away game and establish a slender half-time lead.

Needing a turnaround, Alexander Blessin turned to Abdoulie Ceesay at the break, and the forward required less than 15 minutes to score in a third consecutive game, rising high in the box to send a firm header past Kamil Grabara from a dangerous, inswinging corner. 

However, just as the hosts appeared to be in ascendancy, Vasilj inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net in his attempt to punch clear from a corner.

St Pauli desperately appealed for a foul, but the referee awarded the game’s third set-piece goal following a brief trip to the monitor. 

Daniel Siebert soon revisited the pitchside screen to penalise Tomoya Ando for a handball, only for Christian Eriksen to thump the subsequent penalty against the woodwork.

The Dane’s miss was quickly forgotten when Dzenan Pejcinovic pounced on a rebound to slot home Wolfsburg’s third goal, sealing all three points to send the Kiezkicker down with Heidenheim.

While the hosts bow out after two Bundesliga seasons, Dieter Hecking’s side will prepare for a playoff against one of Elversberg, Hannover or Paderborn.