Match Report

0-3: HSV lose first leg of the Play-Off

HSV lost heavily against VfB Stuttgart, lost Suhonen to a red card and will now go into the second leg with a heavy deficit.

Hamburger SV lost the first leg of the relegation play-off against VfB Stuttgart 0:3 (0:1) on Thursday (1 June). In the Mercedes-Benz-Arena, the Rothosen were already behind in the first minute of the match through a header by Mavropanos and could then thank keeper Heuer Fernandes that they did not concede a second goal, among other things, Hamburg's number 1 saved a penalty by Guirassy and thus kept his team in the match. After the break, however, the home side struck early again, and twice: Vagnoman and Guirassy scored twice in the 51st and 54th minutes to give Stuttgart the 3-0 lead. Doubly bitter: In addition to the game, Hamburg, who never gave up, also lost midfielder Suhonen, who was shown the red card for a rough foul in the 69th minute.

Teufelskerl Heuer Fernandes! Hamburgs Keeper vereitelte etliche Stuttgarter Großchancen und pariert hier zur Krönung auch noch den Elfmeter von Guirassy.

Hamburg's nightmare start ...

In Stuttgart, HSV coach Tim Walter could again rely on Reis and Jatta, who had been absent due to suspension, and who returned to the starting eleven as expected. But this Hamburg eleven, which had suffered the ultimate blow at Sandhausen on Sunday far after the final whistle of its own game, was dealt the next blow straight away: The first leg of the relegation was just 46 seconds old when Mavropanos headed in a Sosa corner unstoppably for a very early 1:0 lead for Stuttgart.

It was a start to the game that left its mark, because VfB clearly dominated the opening phase, repeatedly came dangerously from their own left side with Sosa and Führich in front of the Hamburg goal and could have scored the second goal. In the 23rd minute, Guirassy ran almost from the halfway line alone towards Heuer Fernandes and only four minutes later, after a foul by Reis on Millot, he was allowed to take a penalty kick against Hamburg's keeper - and after the great chance, he also saved the penalty kick. And that was not all, because in the 29th minute Heuer Fernandes somehow managed to deflect Führich's shot around the post with an incredible reflex. It was thanks to Hamburg's number 1 that the Rothosen were still in the game. And from then on they found their way into the game better and better. Fighting, but also playing, so that the HSV was able to make their presence felt more often offensively, and in the person of Dompe in the 38th minute, they also had their first dangerous goal. However, that was all they could manage in the first half, so that Stuttgart went into halftime with a slim lead.

Nach Spielende bedankten sich die Spieler des HSV bei den mitgereisten Fans, die ihr Team auch in Stuttgart bedingungslos unterstützten.

... and clear defeat

It was noticeable that the Red Shorts came out of the dressing room with a great willingness. They were determined to do better than they had done in the first half, and they were hell-bent on overturning the deficit. But instead, the next blow came in the form of a double blow: after a quick counter-attack, Vagnoman slid the ball in from close range in the 51st minute to make it 0:2 from Hamburg's point of view, and just three minutes later, Guirassy scored again with a header after a Sosa corner to make it 0:3.

This meant that the game was virtually decided after just under an hour, and yet Walter's team did not let up, kept trying and had two top chances through Glatzel and Kittel, but on this evening they did not have offensive luck on their side either. However, HSV did not let this discourage them, nor did they let the fact that they had to play shorthanded from the 69th minute onwards, after Suhonen, who had been substituted shortly before, had been shown the red card for a rough foul on Vagnoman. And so the team fought their way into stoppage time, even tried to make their mark forward, but were naturally vulnerable defensively and were lucky on two or three occasions that VfB did not add the fourth goal on quick counter-attacks against a tightened Rothosen side. Nevertheless, the starting position before the second leg next Monday against a VfB Stuttgart that was superior tonight is certainly not the best. But not hopeless either.

Match Summary:

VfB Stuttgart: Müller - Mavropanos, Anton (90.+2 Zagadou), Ito - Vagnoman, Karazor (84. Nartey), Endo, Sosa - Millot (84. Egloff), Guirassy (67. Pfeiffer), Führich (67. Tiago Tomas)

Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes - Heyer, David, Schonlau, Muheim - Meffert, Reis (60. Suhonen), Kittel - Jatta, Glatzel, Dompe (65. Königsdörffer)

Goals: 1:0 Mavropanos (1.), 2:0 Vagnoman (51.), 3:0 Guirassy (54.)

Attendance: 55.500 (Sold Out)

Referee: Tobias Welz (Wiesbaden)

Yellow Cards: Karazor / Reis, Königsdörffer

Yellow-Red Cards: - / -

Red Cards: - / Suhonen (69., grobes Foulspiel)