0:1 - HSV loses to Hansa Rostock

Goalless first half...

HSV coach Tim Walter was able to field the same starting eleven against Hansa as in the 2:0 victory in Braunschweig. Only winger Amaechi, who had provided a lot of fresh impetus after his substitution in the successful season opener and had also been involved in both HSV goals, was injured during the week and was not available against Rostock. They were very defensive from the start, barricaded their own penalty area with a defensive unit that mutated into a five-man defence and made life difficult for HSV. There were hardly any gaps, so that after half an hour the Reds had an extremely dominant 77 per cent of possession, but were unable to convert this into a compelling goal-scoring opportunity. More danger came from Rostock's counter-attacks and standard situations, with Fröde's header and Pröger's low shot twice just missing the Hamburg goal on the left (22nd, 28th). The greatest danger for the visitors came in the 32nd minute, when the Hamburg team got themselves into trouble twice after two ball losses in their own penalty area, but ultimately survived these scenes without any damage. Nevertheless, these situations showed that after their very defensive start, Rostock became bolder and more variable in the course of the first half, while HSV also stepped up their game in the final phase of the first half and recorded the two most dangerous actions of the first 45 minutes with Kittel's double chance in the 38th and 39th minute.