Match report

First point of the season thanks to late Hunt penalty

In the first game of the new season, HSV managed to secure a deserved point deep into injury time. Captain Aaron Hunt coolly slotted away the penalty in the 98th minute after Darmstadt went in front with the first action of the second half.

Hamburger SV opened its account for the new season on Sunday (28th July) with a 1-1 draw against SV Darmstadt 98. The Rothosen started the new campaign off on the front foot and dominated the first half, only for the wasteful finishing coming back to bite them 17 seconds after the restart, as the guests used one of their few chances to take the lead through Tim Skarke. The hosts, roared on by almost 45,000 supporters at the Volksparkstadion, pressed for the equaliser, without endangering Marcel Schuhen’s goal to the same degree as during the first period. Just as it looked like HSV would leave the game empty-handed, substitute Manuel Wintzheimer was fouled in the area, and, with Aaron Hunt’s resulting penalty nestling in the bottom corner, HSV had won themselves a well-deserved point in the final minute of the game. A rollercoaster last 10 minutes to start the season!

Lukas Hinterseer was one of six new faces in the HSV starting line-up, who created lots of chances in the first half, only for the final touch to be lacking.

Lots of chances but nothing to show for it…

The conditions couldn’t have been better for the first home game of the season; wonderful Hamburg weather and the usual deafening Volksparkstadion atmosphere greeted both sets of teams, as referee Robert Hartmann got the game underway exactly at 1:30pm. The new-look HSV team, with six new signings in all making their competitive debuts for the club, needed just three minutes to create the first chance of the new season; after nice combination play from Jatta and Dudziak down the left-hand side, Narey’s right-footed shot ballooned over the bar, a sign of things to come. In the next few minutes it was clear how the game was going to pan out; by the 15th minute HSV had already racked up three corners to Darmstadt’s none, and Hunt had somehow contrived to miss the goal after more excellent build-up play down the left-hand side. However, the guests weren’t completely harmless and Mehlem reminded the Hamburg back-line what could happen if they underestimated their opponents, his dipping effort from 30 yards only just flying over the top of Daniel Heuer Fernandes’ goal.

With the let-off, the home side once again grew in confidence and could have been awarded a penalty after Herrmann’s tackle on Leibold, only for referee Hartmann and video assistant Bibiana Steinhaus to wave away all subsequent protests from Dieter Hecking and his charges. The last chance of the half fell to Jeremy Dudziak in the same way as Hunt earlier on, with Bakery Jatta having tied Herrmann in knots once again down the left, the new signing’s left-footed shot dribbled agonisingly wide of the right-hand upright. The home side would have been ruing that missing killer instinct as the half ended with nothing to separate the two sides, on the scoreboard at least.

HSV captain Aaron Hunt didn't just dictate the tempo of the game in midfield, but also stepped up in injury time to win a deserved point for his side.

… until the last minute of the game

17 seconds had been played of the second half when Skarke showed HSV exactly what they had been missing in the first half. The substitute needed one touch of the ball and less than half a minute on the pitch to make his presence known, undoing all of Hamburg’s good work in the first half, as he reacted quickest to Heuer Fernandes’ parry to head into the unguarded net. In the following quarter of an hour, HSV seemed shocked at going behind, and only really started to lay siege to Schuhen’s goal with the substitutions of another pair of new signings, David Kinsombi and Sonny Kittel. Kittel in particular gave wind to the Rothosen’s sails but, like his colleagues, when he had the opportunity to shoot, could only find the waiting arms of Schuhen. The atmosphere heightened as the drama unfolded in the final 15 minutes, and Darmstadt could barely get the ball clear as all ten outfield players were pushed back by the home side, beaten down by their defensive efforts and the unforgiving Hamburg heat. Dieter Hecking had one last roll of the dice and it came up trumps; substitute Manuel Wintzheimer’s alertness made the difference, as he got to the ball just before Darmstadt’s Dumic, who felled him in the process. After consultation with Steinhaus in Cologne and having watched the images for himself, Hartmann pointed to the spot, giving Hamburg the chance to earn a point in the last minute of extra-time. Captain Aaron Hunt didn’t let this chance go begging, stepping up and giving Schuhen no chance, with the ball nestling in the bottom right-hand corner long before the Darmstadt ‘keeper had got there. It was the last act of a season opener that certainly wasn’t for the nervous types.

The game summary

Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes - Gyamerah (77‘ Wintzheimer), Papadopoulos, van Drongelen, Leibold - Fein - Dudziak (64‘ Kinsombi), Hunt - Narey, Jatta (64‘ Kittel) - Hinterseer

SV Darmstadt 98: Schuhen - Herrmann (68‘ Egbo), Dumic, Höhn, Holland - Palsson, Stark - Heller, Schnellhardt (46‘ Skarke), Mehlem - Dursun (81‘ Kempe)

Goals: 0-1 Skarke (46‘), 1-1 Hunt (90‘+8)

Attendance: 44,475

Referee: Robert Hartmann (Wangen)

Yellow cards: 83‘ Hinterseer, 85‘ Papadopoulos / 44‘ Herrmann, 62‘ Dumic, 72’ Mehlem, 90’ Schuhen

Red cards: - / -