From Magdeburg to Kiel

After salvaging a point right at the death in the 2-2 draw at 1. FC Magdeburg, recovery was the main aim of the training session for a large number of Rothosen on Monday (15th April). There was a lot of activity in the gym and the physio room at the training ground as the players looked to recover from the strain of the previous day. Hamburg put in a huge shift to come back from 2-0 down after playing more than an hour with ten men, and gained a point in the battle for promotion. Around the 70th minute, when Steffen Baumgart’s side began their best period of the game, both teams were essentially neck-and-neck in terms of distance covered, even though the Rothosen had already been down to ten for a long time. At the end, they had run just 3.7 kilometres fewer (115.3 km to 119 km) over the whole game than their opponents. Statistics of 23 shots to 14, 16 crosses to 4 and 9 corners to 3 underlined the Rothosen’s gargantuan effort. This led to a host of big chances, two of which were eventually taken by Schonlau (68’) and Meffert (90+4’), while Benes and Reis also brought HSV’s total of shots hitting the woodwork to 20 – the most in the division this season. “In the second half, the lads went above and beyond what I expect of them,” said Baumgart after the game. “We had several gilt-edged chances, and even could have won the game. For this reason, I’m a little bit disappointed, but on the other hand I’m proud of the team’s morale.”

A host of returning players

His players had a similar view of the game. The Rothosen would of course have wanted all three points in Magdeburg, but considering how the match had gone against them so far and their relentless pressure in the final half hour, the morale they showed was the most important thing. “We kept on going, regardless of how poorly things were going for us. At half time, we were 2-0 down, a man down, and playing against 25,000 fans. There are very few teams who could put in a second-half performance like we did,” said captain Sebastian Schonlau, who also looked ahead to the upcoming games: “The way we dealt with the setback and the penalties shows our strong team spirit, and that’s what we want to take into the last five matches.” Jonas Meffert, who netted HSV’s second goal and also assisted the first, saw it similarly. “We then went all or nothing. Dompe brought a great impulse on when he was introduced, and Bobby’s presence also helped us. I’m pleased for the team, that we got our reward for a good performance. That’s how we need to go into the last few games. Giving up is not an option.”

In fact, the attackers, who recently came back from spells on the sidelines, added a new lease of life to the game when they came off the bench. Winger Jean-Luc Dompe delivered a match-best of six crosses after being substituted on in the 61st minute, while this season’s top goalscorer Robert Glatzel (16) applied pressure in the Magdeburg box, pinning the defenders and holding up the ball for his teammates, while also getting shots off himself. With Dennis Hadzikadunic, Anssi Suhonen and Ignace Van der Brempt back in team training on Monday after recovering from either injury or illness, the Rothosen are heading into the upcoming home fixture with confidence and a reasonably full squad. However, Saturday’s match will be anything but a walk in the park for HSV, as they are set to face off against Holstein Kiel, who have been in great form as of late. The side have emerged victorious and kept a clean sheet in their last five league games, and advanced into the top spot for the second time since matchday 17 after cruising to a 4-0 victory against VfL Osnabrück. On Saturday evening at 20:30 CEST, HSV will tackle the league leaders at the Volksparkstadion, and are approaching the clash with both courage and a strong group of players.