Dunfermline were in action in the first friendly ahead of the new season but the night ended in defeat against German side St Pauli.
A crowd of 7255 were inside East End Park to see goals either side of the break from Johannes Eggestein and Hauke Wahl, and a third 12 minutes from time from David Otto for the visitors. Pars boss James McPake said: “There was a good crowd, a good opposition and it was a very good exercise for our players. We’ll take a lot of that game in terms of where we are in pre-season. Playing in that atmosphere was great for the players. It didn’t feel like a friendly.”
The German side draw fans from across the globe, their ‘kult’ following attracted to the club’s left-wing politics and social activism. Hundreds of Celtic supporters were packed into a bustling away end to join the travelling Germans and followers from St Pauli’s UK fan clubs. On the pitch, there was a zip to the play, despite both being only a week into their pre-season regimes, and the visitors impressed from the off as they took the lead in nine minutes.
