Gerald Asamoah scored to give St. Pauli its first derby win over Hamburg since 1977 with a 1-0 away victory Wednesday in the Bundesliga.
Asamoah's winner came against the run of play in the 59th minute, when Fabian Boll knocked on a Max Kruse corner and the 32-year-old headed in from close range for his sixth goal of the season.
St. Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski surprisingly picked Benedikt Pliquett in goal for his first Bundesliga game. The 26-year-old goalkeeper was once a part of the youth setup at Hamburg, and he denied his former club with a string of crucial saves.
St. Pauli moved up to 11th in the standings, while Hamburg remained seventh, 19 points behind leader Borussia Dortmund.
Aenis Ben-Hatira had the first real chance of the game for Hamburg in the 14th minute but was unable to head Dennis Aogo's cross on target.
Pliquett denied Heiko Westermann shortly afterward, when he blocked the Hamburg defender's shot from close range.
"The goalkeeper did that well," Hamburg sports director Bastian Reinhardt said.
The home side dominated possession, with St. Pauli restricted to hopeful balls forward and free kicks.
Asamoah had the visitors' first shot on goal in the 40th, and it was blocked out for a corner.
Ben-Hatira should have scored late in the half when he pounced on a mistake from Carlos Zambrano, but he curled his shot to the right with only Pliquett to beat.
St. Pauli appeals for a penalty when Fin Bartels went down under a challenge from Guy Demel were waved away by referee Guenter Perl.
The first half ended with the shot count 10 to 1 in the home side's favor.
Hamburg kept attacking with intent after the interval. Ze Roberto hit the side netting after some great work from substitute Eljero Elia and Mladen Petric, who went down in the penalty area under Matthias Lehmann's challenge shortly afterward. Again the referee waved play on.
Zambrano nicked the ball away from Ruud Van Nistelrooy when it seemed the Hamburg striker would score in the 55th, and Pliquett's fine reflexes denied defender Joris Mathijsen from close range as the home side increased the pressure.
Asamoah then got ahead of Mathijsen to score, sending Stanislawski into wild celebrations on the touchline, and St. Pauli could have had another when goalkeeper Frank Rost scrambled to deny substitute Marius Ebbers' powerful header in the 77th.
St. Pauli continued to play on the counterattack as the home side searched for an equalizer with increasing desperation.
Ebbers wasted a late chance to make the game safe when he attempted a pass to Lehmann instead of shooting.
