Match report
16.09.23
HSV beaten 2-1 in Elversberg
Saturday spelled a first defeat of the season for HSV, losing 2-1 at promoted side SV Elversberg. Heyer’s 88th-minute goal was too little, too late.
Hamburger SV suffered a 2-1 loss away at SV Elversberg on Saturday afternoon. Around 10,000 spectators watched on at the sold-out Ursapharm-Arena an der Kaiserlinde as the Rothosen unluckily had two goals chalked off in the first half. Rochelt grabbed the opener after nine minutes and the hosts extended their advantage around the hour mark through Schnellbacher. Elversberg could have been out of sight by the time Heyer pulled a goal back for Hamburg two minutes from time, although there still wasn’t enough time for Tim Walter’s side to salvage a draw and avoid their first defeat of the season.
Hard luck early on
The HSV head coach didn’t make any changes to the side that won 2-0 against Hansa Rostock ahead of the international break. Those same players – cheered on by around 3,000 travelling fans in Sandhausen – thought they were on an early path to another victory when Glatzel curled a shot home inside three minutes. However, VAR chimed in to rule the goal out for the most marginal of offside calls.
It was the first of a string of decisions that would go against Hamburg. It was déjà-vu in the 18th minute, when HSV’s second goal of the day was also ruled out after the fact. This time, Reis was ruled to have committed a foul in the build-up to Dompe’s composed finish into the bottom corner. It was the sour cherry on top of a painful opening period to the game, which also saw the Rothosen go 1-0 down in the ninth minute after Hadzikadunic sloppily lost possession at the back, allowing Rochelt to slot the ball into an empty net. Buoyed by their opener, Elversberg began to play more courageous football and would have been two up at the break if not for a brilliant save from Heuer Fernandes to deny a clear-cut chance for Rochelt.
No happy ending
Things didn’t look up much for Hamburg after the change of ends. The half started on a positive note with Glatzel’s effort, but soon it was a laboured looking display from the Rothosen as they struggled to deal with Sandhausen’s aggressive defending and quick breakaways. The task became all the more difficult in the 60th minute, as Schnellbacher was able to finish at the back post following a swift counterattack. He arguably should have added a third shortly after too.
Sahin was the next SVE player to come close to wrapping up the result in the 70th minute, only just missing the target from the halfway line after HSV lost the ball. Substitute Faghir also hit the post for the home side in the final quarter of an hour, while Sahin and Antonitsch were denied with goal-line clearances in quick succession from Meffert and Heuer Fernandes respectively. As long as the third goal refused to fall, Hamburg were still in with a chance and continued to look for a way back into the game. With just two minutes remaining, Heyer’s shot from the edge of the box found its way through the sea of players to nestle in the corner and made it 2-1. There was to be one final chance to level the game, but Elversberg goalkeeper Kristof’s remarkable triple save against Glatzel, Nemeth and then Königsdörffer summed up HSV’s afternoon and confirmed the first defeat of the season for Walter’s side.
Match facts:
SV Elversberg: Kristof - Vandermersch, Jäkel, Conrad (72' Antonitsch), Neubauer - Sickinger (46' Stock), Jacobsen, Sahin, Wanner (65' Feil), Rochelt - Schnellbacher (72' Faghir)
Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes - van der Brempt, Hadzikadunic (63' Königsdörffer), Schonlau (74' Ambrosius), Muheim (50' Heyer) - Meffert, Reis, Benes (46.' Pherai) - Jatta (63' Nemeth), Glatzel, Dompe
Goals: 1-0 Rochelt (9'), 2-0 Schnellbacher (60')
Attendance: 10,000 (sold-out)
Referee: Patrick Schwengers (Limburg)
Yellow cards: Sickinger, Vandermersch / Hadzikadunic, Meffert