BERLIN (AP) — More goalkeeping heroics from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup qualifying star Nikola Vasili helped St. Pauli, struggling to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga, hold on to a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin on Sunday.
In the first game since his save helped Watch the Bosnian team defeat Italy In the World Cup qualifying play-offs, Vasili had eight shots on target, and even though he had lost the ball, he made an outstanding double save. The only goal was a superb header from Union striker Andrej Ilic on the edge of a corner.
St. Pauli opened the scoring with a strong long-range volley from Matthias Pereira Lage, but they rarely conceded after that.
St. Pauli’s Australian captain Jackson Irvine was sent off for two yellow cards in eight minutes, both for late tackles, but St. Pauli defended the game with 10 men for the remaining three minutes.
Even a point for St. Pauli was bad news for Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg are on the brink of being relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in history. Lost to Bayer Leverkusen 6-3 Saturday. Wolfsburg, who have been in the Bundesliga since 1997, are currently four points clear.
The bottom two teams, Wolfsburg and Heidenheim, will be directly relegated to the second division. St. Pauli, currently in 16th place, will play a two-leg playoff against the team in third place in the second division.
The Union remains in 10th place.
Cologne are in 15th place and will play Eintracht Frankfurt later on Sunday.
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