Team
09.10.22
Matheo Raab: Confirmation on Special debut
At Short Notice, the 23-year-old Goalkeeper took the place of Daniel Heuer Ferenandes in the HSV goal during the topspiel against former club Kaiserslautern and impressed with a strong performance.
When the line-ups for the top match were announced on the stadium screen of the sold-out Volksparkstadion on Saturday evening (8 October), not only the HSV fans among the 57,000 spectators in the stands looked and listened twice: The starting eleven for the Red Shorts that evening did not include Daniel Heuer Fernandes, the established number one goalkeeper, but Matheo Raab, who had transferred to the Elbe from 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the summer. Of all things, this was probably the most common thought about this personnel matter. The 23-year-old goalkeeper made his competitive debut for HSV against his former club, of all teams. "I didn't choose it. Only football writes such stories," admitted Raab, beaming with joy after the final whistle.
The native of Hesse, who had flown through the penalty areas for five years since 2017, first for the second team and later for the first team of the Pfalz and had made the return to the 2. Liga perfect with the Red Devils in the relegation against Dynamo Dresden (0:0/2:0) last season, only found out about his nomination for the starting eleven in the afternoon. The reason was a stomach bug that had struck down Daniel Heuer Fernandes and prevented him from playing. "It became clear in the course of the day, as Ferro was not present at the activation," reported Raab, who immediately had the special circumstances of his debut in mind. "Of course everything came together: in such a stadium, in front of such a backdrop, in the top game against my old club. That makes it special. I tried to block it out, prepare the same way I always do, not let it play a role, but of course that doesn't quite work." Once the game started, it did. With the kick-off and the tunnel setting in, the excitement was gone. In addition, the first intercepted crosses and successful passes brought additional security.
"Proved why we got him".
Raab was only really tested in the second half. He did not have to intervene with Boyd's header (19th) and Redondo's shot (44th) in the first half because they missed their chances, but shortly after the restart a minimal foot save prevented Boyd from scoring the opening goal when he was completely free in front of the Hamburg goalkeeper (48th). I changed my cleats at lunchtime and was still slightly on it," Raab said, only to add openly and honestly that he did not concede what was actually a logical corner kick for Lauter. "Unfortunately, I was not completely fair in the situation. The emotions got the better of me," apologised the debutant, who, full of adrenaline, had previously celebrated himself for the action and was also applauded by his front men and the spectators.
Raab was also able to distinguish himself time and again in the following period. Both in the one-on-one against Redondo (63rd) he convinced with a good positional game and also saved other crosses and shots (e.g. by Opoku). The fact that it was not enough for a dream debut was not due to him, but on the one hand to the exploitation of chances by the HSV offensive, which missed several top-class chances this evening (including the penalty in the 81st minute), and on the other hand to the defence, which once failed to pay decisive attention in the 82nd minute and could not prevent Redondo's cross and Lobinger's foot shot (82nd minute). The guests scored the equaliser after all. It was well deserved, but not at all to Raab's taste in his first competitive match. "Of course I'm disappointed that we didn't win. That is our ambition. But when I think about it in two or three days, I can be quite satisfied with my performance," said the debutant. The coach also saw it that way. "He played a very good game, approached it with a lot of joy and was very present. He proved today why we brought him in." And the fans now also know that they can look forward to a strong back the next time his name appears on the scoreboard in the starting eleven.