Niko Kovac regretted the lack of focus of his Borussia Dortmund side while having a lead of two goals slipping to draw with St. Pauli in their Bundesliga opener.
Kovac watched while Serhou Guirassy gave his team a 34th minute lead, but the striker missed the chance to double their benefit after missing a penalty five minutes later.
St. Pauli recovered parity in the 50th minute through Andreas Houttondji, although goals from Waldemar Anton and Julian Brandt apparently had an assignment.
Dortmund was reduced to 10 men when Filippo Mane received a straight red card in the 85th minute for a last man, with Danel Sinani who saved the resulting penalty.
And the comeback was completed one minute of time. The brilliant strike by Eric Smith chose the top left corner and left Dortmund to beat their missed opportunities.
The side of Kovac did indeed end the match with an expected goals (XG) a total of 1.42 of their eight shots, compared to St. Pauli's 1.27 of their 11 attempts to the goal of Gregor Kobel.
Dortmund did not succeed in starting a new Bundesliga season with a victory for the first time in 10 years, with Kovac mentioning a lack of concentration as a key to their stalemate.
“We were not so focused if I had wanted the entire 90 minutes. We had a 3-1 lead and got the most out of our quality players in terms of finish,” said Kovac.
“But we did not embrace the fight as we should have here in St. Pauli. That is why we have to be satisfied with this point at the end of the day. For me it was a clear punishment.
“But he wasn't alone. We then gave a different goal of 18 meters when we had enough players for us to throw ourselves on it, and the ball then comes along us.
“But today was a day when we deserved no more than one point.”
Dortmund -goalkeeper Kobel reflected the feelings of his boss, while he also points to the punishment incident with Mane late as an important turning point in the game.
“It is super disappointing, extremely frustrating. We didn't play a good game, and yet we were in a position where we could have seen the game over the line,” Kobel added.
“In the course of a season you will always have games in which you may not link super incredibly, but what is important is that we win them.
“I think he doesn't hold him crazy. The red card was a turning point in the game. Until then we had actually defended relatively well.”
Dortmund hopes to achieve their first victory of 2025-26 under their belts next Sunday when they welcome Union Berlin in the Westphalen Stadium.