HSV win cup classic 4-3 in Essen

An end-to-end game …

HSV started the game as the dominant side and their first chance came after just three minutes. A cross towards the backpost from Dompe on the left was nodded across the middle by Jatta where Öztunali was waiting, but he could only head narrowly over the bar. Walter’s side, who had over 60% possession in the first 15 minutes, continued to make forays forward, but struggled to find space in an RWE defence which sat deep in a 5-4-1 formation. The first chance for the home side came after 18 minutes when Isaiah Young almost punished a giveaway in midfield from Dompe in his own half, shooting narrowly wide from the right-hand side of the box. Shortly afterwards, Lucas Brumme played Moussa Doumbouya through from the left, but the attacker could only fire his shot over (23’). 

The ‘Rothosen’ once again found themselves in the ascendancy and they looked to get into the penalty area, especially down the left-hand side with Dompe, but they were just missing that clinical edge. This was also the case after 30 minutes, as Robert Glatzel, wearing the captain’s armband for the game, failed to control the ball cleanly in the box. In the final fifteen minutes of the half, the hosts had to be aware in transition, with HSV winning the ball back effectively and getting on the front foot. This led to the opening goal in the 37th minute, with Jatta winning the ball off Jose-Enrique in the RWE half before running through on goal and smashing a shot home at the near post to make it 1-0. This lead didn’t last long though, as Torben Müsel curled a freekick through the wall and into the bottom left corner (42’). Moments later, the whistled sounded for half time with the game level at one apiece.

… and was decided late in extra time

Stephan Ambrosius came on for the injured Dennis Hadzikadunic and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörfer replaced Levin Öztunali for extra time. By this point in the game, the early intensity of the game was clear for all to see and with lots of tired legs on the pitch there were not many chances in the first half of extra time. Laszlo Benes had a chance from a freekick just outside the box, but Golz made a good save to keep it out (104’). There was another chance for Benes from a similar position after 110 minutes, but his shot sailed just over. At the other end, the hosts had another opportunity, but Raab was alert to the danger (112’). Three minutes later, a through ball from Glatzel gave Königsdörffer a chance in front of goal, but the attacker fired straight at Golz and Glatzel couldn’t control the rebound. Just as many were starting to accept the realities of a penalty shootout, HSV scored a last minute winner. Laszlo Benes was played through in the centre and didn’t take long before finishing into the bottom corner to make it 4-3 at the death. Shortly afterwards, referee Felix Zwayer blew the final whistle, confirming HSV’s progression into the second round of the DFB-Pokal after a classic cup game in Essen.