Friendlies Clubs· Season 2026
Bournemouth beat FC St. Pauli 4-1 in Marco Rose's first match as head coach, with Doak, William, Jebbison and Diakité scoring after Kaars' opener in Austria.
Match Videos
Match Analysis
AI SummaryHow it unfolded
St. Pauli took a deserved lead in the 22nd minute when Martijn Kaars latched onto Louis Oppie's through ball and finished from ten metres. The lead lasted barely three minutes. Ben Doak — on the pitch for less than a minute after replacing Remy Rees-Dottin at the 19-minute mark — collected a switch from Marcus Tavernier and drilled a pinpoint strike into the bottom-left corner from the edge of the area.
Bournemouth turned the game around before half-time. Ryan Christie's header was saved by Ben Voll, but Harold William was first to the rebound and tucked it away in the 37th minute. The Cherries led 2-1 at the break.
Rose made ten changes at half-time, sending out an entirely different outfield XI. The reshuffle paid immediate dividends. In the 47th minute, Daniel Jebbison latched onto a pass from Alex Tóth in the left channel and finished with a low drive. Five minutes later, Bafodé Diakité headed in a corner to make it 4-1.
The turning point
Rose's ten half-time substitutions risked disrupting Bournemouth's rhythm, but the opposite happened. The fresh legs scored twice inside the first seven minutes of the second half, extinguishing any hope St. Pauli had of mounting a comeback. Jebbison's clinical finish and Diakité's set-piece header turned a 2-1 contest into a comfortable 4-1 lead before the hour mark.
Key performers
Ben Doak — The substitute scored the equaliser within six minutes of entering the pitch, latching onto a quick free-kick move and beating Voll from distance. His pace and direct running troubled St. Pauli throughout.
Daniel Jebbison — Introduced at half-time, the Canadian striker scored Bournemouth's third goal inside two minutes of the restart. His movement off the left channel caused problems for the St. Pauli backline.
Bafodé Diakité — Another half-time substitute who made an instant impact, arriving unmarked to head home a corner for Bournemouth's fourth. A composed defensive display to go with the goal.
Martijn Kaars — St. Pauli's standout performer, scoring a well-taken opener and holding the ball up effectively as a lone forward. His movement forced Bournemouth's centre-backs into early mistakes.
By the numbers — interpreted
Bournemouth's first pre-season outing under Marco Rose produced five goals from just 12 shots at goal across both halves, suggesting sharp finishing rather than dominance in open play. The Cherries' 11 substitutions — ten at half-time — meant entirely different teams played each half, making raw possession and shot statistics unreliable as a gauge of either side's performance. The key number is the 22-minute window: St. Pauli led for 180 seconds, and after Bournemouth equalised, the German side never regained control.
What it means
For Bournemouth, this was their first friendly of the 2026/27 pre-season under new head coach Marco Rose, who replaced Andoni Iraola after the club's sixth-place Premier League finish and Europa League qualification. The result offers early encouragement, though the opposition will stiffen as pre-season progresses. St. Pauli, who rounded off their Austrian training camp with this fixture, were without several key players including Adam Dźwigała, World Cup participant Eric Smith, and the injured Abdoulie Ceesay. Marcel Rapp's side face a 2. Bundesliga campaign starting in August.
Verdict
A routine pre-season win for Bournemouth, noteworthy mostly for the emphatic response after going behind and the instant impact of Rose's half-time changes. St. Pauli will take heart from a promising first 22 minutes but will need to address defensive concentration against set pieces and transitions before the season starts.
Match Events
Key match events between Bournemouth and FC St. Pauli — 5 goals and 2 cards recorded during the match.
Statistics are for informational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
API data: 26 Jul 2026
