Despite plenty of action at the Millerntor-Stadion, Arminia Bielefeld and St. Pauli couldn't be separated. Both sides had goals disallowed for offside, in what was an exciting start to their campaigns.
Both sides lined up with very similar starting elevens to those that featured last season. Only Lasse Sobiech, who was on loan but then bought permanently by St. Pauli, was brought in over the summer.
Bielefeld and Norbert Meier had a busy transfer window and three of their new signings were afforded a starting spot. Brian Behrendt, Wolfgang Hesl and Michael Görlitz took to the field, with most of the attention of the later - facing his former club for the first time.
Wolfgang Stark was keen to take control of the game early on and didn't hesitate when Sören Gonther hauled down Christian Müller - brandishing a fourth minute yellow card. He latter fired just wide moments later, although the home faithful felt aggrieved when a similar tackle on Marc Rzatkowski went unpunished.
St. Pauli have the edge early on
Chances were hard to come by in the opening quarter of an hour, the best of which fell to the hosts but Gonther's side-footed effort flew well over. Bernd Nehrig nearly provided the breakthrough only for his powerful header to go down Hesl's through - either side of the goalkeeper and it could easily have been a different story.
The Westphalians were showing signs of nervousness and miscommunication between Julian Börner and his goalkeeper almost let in Lennart Thy to score. He had an even better opportunity minutes later after pouncing on a loose ball inside the box, though the forward failed to get his effort on target.
Chances fall to both sides
As dangerous as Thy was at one end, Müller was proving to be a similar threat at the other. His prodded effort found the side netting in what seemed to be the turning of the tide, with main-man Fabian Klos beginning to see more of the ball.
After a slight lull, St. Pauli came back into the game and came close to getting that crucial opener. Waldemar Sobota sent a fierce shot screaming past the post and Marcel Hasltenberg then wasted a good free-kick opportunity. The hosts thought that breakthrough had come from Rzatkowski's smart finish, only to be correctly denied by the offside flag.
Bielefeld brought on Christoph Hemlein on for the quiet Behrendt, who had offered very little in the game up until half-time. He couldn't make an immediate impact, however, and Lasse Sobiech wasted another great chance - the former-HSV defender managed to head off target.
Second goal chalked off
Börner then looked to have made the perfect start to life in the 2. Bundesliga, tapping in from Florian Dick's free-kick. His celebrations were to be cut short by an offside call, which the linesman got spot on. Kyoung-Rok Choi and John Verhoek replaced Sobota and Daniel Buballa, as Ewald Lienen's men pushed forward in search of that elusive opener.
Sebastian Maier had been quiet to start off, although a well-placed free-kick meant that Hesl had to be quick on his feet to punch clear. Time was ticking away but the pressure on both teams was ramping up, Enis Alushi just couldn't keep his composure at the vital moment, however, and shot just over from the edge of the box.
Himmelmann puts in heroic shift
Klos finally got his chance to open his account on the first day of the new season - though, unlike last season, he headed straight at Robin Himmelmann. The St. Pauli stopper came up trumps for his side late on again, somehow turning away Manuel Junglas' flick from close range with super-sharp reactions.
In the end, the game finished level, a point that both teams will appreciate. Either side could stake a valid claim for a win but, truthfully, neither will complain about the draw.