3-2 victory over FC Verden in first pre-season friendly

Hamburger SV had their first friendly of pre-season on Sunday (2nd July). Just two days after the start of pre-season training on Friday, HSV were on their way to Lower Saxony to face FC Verden 04 in front of 1,300 fans at the sold-out Sportanlage Hubertushain. Head coach Tim Walter wanted to give as many players minutes as possible after the four-week break. Two almost non-identical teams were sent out for each half, with both of these XIs being composed of a mix of first-team and youth-team players. The hosts scored the first and last goals of the friendly, but three HSV goals in between courtesy of Filip Bilbija, Immanuel Pherai and Robert Glatzel secured a 3-2 victory for the Rothosen.

“Today was about getting up close and personal with the fans, playing for them and giving them a good experience,” commented Walter after the full-time whistle, before going on to look at this friendly, which has come very early in HSV’s pre-season preparations, in a different light. “From a footballing perspective, it was of utmost importance for the lads to put the meet the standards set by the fitness coaches, because we only started pre-season two days ago. Therefore, it was a good session for us, despite not playing with the desired level of intensity for the entirety of the 90 minutes. However, we certainly covered some ground, we were received a warm welcome and were able to ensure it was a worthwhile Sunday afternoon trip for the spectators in attendance, in particular those HSV fans who live outside the city lines."

HSV first half: Mickel - Mikelbrencis, David, Schonlau, Kisilowski - Krahn, Bilbija, Pherai - Heil, Sanne, Öztunali

HSV second half: Mickel - Heyer, David, Seifert, Kisilowski - Meffert, Megeed, Paschke - Balde, Glatzel, Dompe

Goals: 1-0 Austermann (5'), 1-1 Bilbija (10'), 1-2 Pherai (44'), 1-3 Glatzel (62'), 2-3 Brandes (77')