Kovac laments Dortmund's lack of focus in St. Pauli draw

Niko Kovac lamented his Borussia Dortmund side's lack of focus as they let a two-goal lead slip late on to draw with St. Pauli in their Bundesliga opener. 

Kovac watched on as Serhou Guirassy gave his team a 34th-minute lead, but the striker missed the chance to double their advantage after missing a penalty five minutes later. 

St. Pauli restored parity in the 50th minute through Andreas Hountondji, though goals from Waldemar Anton and Julian Brandt had seemingly put the visitors in command. 

Dortmund were reduced to 10 men when Filippo Mane was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul in the 85th minute, with Danel Sinani tucking away the resulting penalty. 

And the comeback was completed a minute from time. Eric Smith's brilliant strike picked out the bottom-left corner, leaving Dortmund to rue their missed opportunities. 

Indeed, Kovac's side ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.42 from their eight shots, compared to St. Pauli's 1.27 from their 11 attempts at Gregor Kobel's goal.

The result saw Dortmund fail to start a new Bundesliga season with a victory for the first time in 10 years, with Kovac citing a lack of concentration as key to their stalemate. 

"We weren't as focused as I would have liked for the entire 90 minutes. We had a 3-1 lead and got the most out of our quality players as far as finishing is concerned," Kovac said.

"But we didn't embrace the fight like we should have here in St. Pauli. That's why we have to be satisfied with this point at the end of the day. For me, it was a clear penalty.

"But it wasn't just him. We then conceded another goal from 18 metres when we had enough players in front of us to throw ourselves at it, and the ball then gets past us.

"But today was a day where we didn't deserve more than one point."

Dortmund goalkeeper Kobel echoed the sentiments of his boss, while also pointing towards the penalty incident involving Mane late on as a key turning point in the contest. 

"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. 

"Over the course of a season, you will always have games in which you perhaps don't link up super amazingly, but what's important is that we win them.

"I think he doesn't hold him crazily tightly. The red card was a turning point in the game. Up until then, we had actually defended relatively well."

Dortmund will be hoping to get their first win of 2025-26 under their belts next Sunday when they welcome Union Berlin to the Westfalenstadion.