HSV bench in captivating form

Judging by his explosive jubilation, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer scored a game-deciding dream goal. The summer signing "only" scored the 5:1 goal in the 6:1 win over Hannover 96. It was a deflection, but the 21-year-old attacker hit the goal so brutally with a low shot that he easily tunneled past Foti, who was lying on the ground, and even keeper Zieler and centre-back Lührs were unable to defuse anything with their hands and feet. 

The supposedly not so important fifth goal of the Rothosen, at the same time Königsdörffer's eighth goal of the season, was recognisably a goal of will, which furthermore contained a clear message: In the team of the Rothosen, all players, especially the substitutes, are greedy for goals. Königsdörffer scored the seventh joker goal for the Red Shorts. He himself scored for the third time after a substitution, while Andras Nemeth scored twice and Laszlo Benes and Tom Sanne each scored once. By comparison, only 1. FC Kaiserslautern (13 substitute goals) are more prolific with substitutes, SC Paderborn and Eintracht Braunschweig are on a par with seven substitute goals. By the way, HSV's wild-card goalscorers, who score on average 11.5 minutes after coming on as substitutes, have scored in four of the last nine matches and are thus in impressive form.

And it doesn't always have to be goals to make an impact and attract attention coming off the bench. Finnish whirlwind Anssi Suhonen, for example, really turned up the heat for the second time in a row after coming on as a substitute, while Elijah Krahn and Valon Zumberi registered their second professional appearance with the diamond on their chests. HSV coach Tim Walter will be pleased to have so many committed players waiting for the next explosion of joy.