Post Match Thought's

96th minute emotional explosion

In the 2-1 win against Sandhausen, Moritz Heyer became the celebrated man with his last-minute goal. But the match-winner was the entire team, which rewarded itself with a lot of patience and a cool head.

Patience. Patience has been a much-used word around the Reds in recent days. Patience with the youngest team in the 2nd division after the end of the transfer window (24.2 years on average) and patience with a demanding game idea that has to be worked out and internalised bit by bit. On Saturday in the home match against SV Sandhausen, patience won out in the 6th minute of injury time, when Moritz Heyer patiently received a Reis cross at the second post and shot the ball over the line for the 2-1 winner, causing the sold-out Volkspark, with 19,950 spectators in Corona conditions, to quake.

The substitute Reis was the initiator of the late eruption in the Volksparkstadion with his briefly executed corner and the subsequent cross.

A goal and its origin

Not only Heyer - buried on the pitch under all his team-mates - but also the 19,950 people in the stands found themselves in complete ecstasy, more aware of the effect than the origin of the goal. And it was precisely this that was so emblematic of this game, which HSV dominated in all respects but only managed to turn to its side late on through a converted penalty by David Kinsombi (74th), only to recklessly give it away again in the 88th minute through a Bachmann goal. The Reds remained patient, they stayed true to their game and that literally until the last second. When Walter's charges were awarded their 15th (!) corner, which was probably the last action of the game, the Reds, instructed by the coach's bench, again went for a short corner. And with resounding success: the three-against-two situation on the right wing led to the Reis cross and the decisive goal - more playful coolness in this pressure situation is almost impossible.

"The 2:1 was amazing. The stadium exploded. A last-minute victory is always nice. We wanted to give something back to the fans and finally win our first home game. Through standard situations, we are much more dangerous this season than last season. It can become a weapon if we keep looking for these situations in a targeted manner," Moritz Heyer described his well thought-out goal into luck and its creation during a media round today, Sunday, for which he also received recognition from coach Tim Walter: "It's worthy of all honour that this team, which is still very young in parts, didn't lose its patience after the equaliser, which was of course unnecessary, and rewarded itself in the end." This mindset was also highlighted by goalscorer Heyer: "The morale we showed after the 1:1 was extremely good. We on the pitch and the spectators in the stands continued to believe in success until the end. In the end, it was a deserved victory."
Together with the fans, the Reds celebrated the last-minute triumph and swore themselves in for the upcoming northern derby. Together with the fans, the Rothosen celebrated the last-minute triumph and swore themselves in for the upcoming northern derby.

Together with the fans, the Rothosen celebrated the last-minute triumph and swore themselves in for the upcoming northern derby.

A victory and its effect

Despite this match-deciding scene, the Red Shorts were self-critical, as vice-captain Tim Leibold said they had "made it unbelievably exciting". In fact, 25:9 shots on goal, 68:32 percent possession, 15:3 corners, 28:13 crosses did not reflect the tightness of the game. The Walter protégés did not capitalise enough on their superior play. "We played our way through on the outside again and again, only the last ball has to come better, we can still improve in this decision-making," the 45-year-old football teacher remarked critically. And yet, after six points from the first five games, it was elementarily important that Hamburg, who had previously lost points in draws against Dresden (1:1), Darmstadt (2:2) and Heidenheim (0:0) despite being ahead, were rewarded threefold this time. "Nothing replaces victories" is the saying in sport. A fact that Jonas Meffert pointed out confidently after the game: "We were so much better than the opponent and deserved to win. It was important that we rewarded ourselves. Because we were 100 per cent the deserved winners, no matter when the goals were scored."

Especially before the next task - HSV are guests at arch-rivals Werder Bremen next Saturday at 8.30pm in the next top second division match - the victory can and should give them tailwind. "Yesterday's win did us good and will give us extra confidence for this task. Werder have a good team, but we definitely don't need to hide. We are confident that we can get three points," explains Moritz Heyer ahead of the eagerly awaited northern derby. The 26-year-old sees his colours on a good path in terms of overall development and says: "If you look at our games one after the other, you can see that it's getting better from game to game. Especially in the last two games, we allowed very little defensively. If we continue to minimise our mistakes and stand in a structured manner, then it will be difficult for every opponent. We have to continue to build on that."

Patience will once again play a central role in this endeavour. .