Friendly

HSV defeat Viborg FF 2-1 in friendly

Hamburger SV turned a 1-0 deficit around in the second half of their friendly against Danish top-division side Viborg FF to win the game 2-1.

The first international break of 2024 got underway following Hamburger SV’s victory over SV Wehen Wiesbaden on matchday 26 of the 2. Bundesliga season. The Rothosen looked to make good use of the gap between fixtures, as they faced off against Danish Superliga side Viborg FF on Wednesday (20th January). HSV came out on top, defeating Viborg 2-1 thanks to goals from Lukasz Poreba and Bakery Jatta.

The game took place behind closed doors on one of the training pitches outside the Volksparkstadion. In the absence of the players on international duty, Steffen Baumgart used the friendly as an opportunity to give the Rothosen who have not seen much action this season some gametime. A number of HSV’s young talents also got the chance to impress over the course of the match. U21 defender David Igboanugo and attacker Omar Sillah, who scored five goals in his last Regionalliga match, were even named in the starting XI.

HSV head coach Steffen Baumgart gave young players, like Omar Sillah, the opportunity to prove themselves.

The game was even from the outset. HSV had their first sight at goal through Masaya Okugawa in the fourth minute of the game. Chances were hard to come by after that, however, as the majority of the action took place in the middle of the park, with the Rothosen having a slight edge over their opponents. Both teams flew into tackles and looked to keep things tight. It took 28 minutes for the visitors to give HSV a scare. Guilherme Ramos put in a last-ditch tackle to prevent Magnus Westergaard from getting a shot off, before ex-Werder player Jean Manuel Mbom picked up the rebound and had a go from distance, but his effort flew over the bar. Immanuel Pherai (33’) and Lukasz Poreba (37’) also tried their luck from range, but didn’t trouble the Viborg keeper. The Danes started to make their mark on proceedings shortly afterwards, as Serginho’s effort went just wide of the post in the 38th minute. Two minutes later, the referee awarded Viborg a penalty following Elijah Krahn’s foul on Mads Sondergaard. Jeppe Gronning stepped up and smashed his penalty into the top right corner to put the guests ahead. Pherai had HSV’s best chance of the half in the 43rd minute, but German goalkeeper Nico Mantl was able to divert the Dutchman’s shot away from goal. The half-time whistle sounded with the away side 1-0 up.

Bakery Jatta coolly converted his penalty to put the Rothosen ahead.

Steffen Baumgart made two substitutions at half time, bringing on Levin Öztunali for Robert Glatzel and Miro Muheim for young Igboanugo. The Rothosen were fired up after the break and it took just three minutes for them to find a deserved equaliser. After a throw-in from the left-hand side, Masaya Okugawa pulled the ball back to Lukasz Poreba, who struck powerfully into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. HSV began to take more control of the game after this, but failed to create many clear-cut chances. In the 63rd minute, Baumgart gave three more youth players an opportunity to impress in Lukas Bornschein, Glory Kiveta and Tom Sanne. The latter was directly involved in the game’s next highlight in the 81st minute, when Viborg’s Stipe Radic handled a shot in his own penalty area. The referee awarded the second penalty kick of the game, this time for the Rothosen, and substitute Bakery Jatta struck into the top right corner. The hosts had turned the game around, and conceded very little afterwards to hold on to an ultimately deserved 2-1 win. “Even putting the result aside, I’m very happy with the game,” said head coach Baumgart. “It was an even encounter with a good tempo against strong opponents. Everyone was fully up for the game and played with concentration.”

Hamburger SV: Heuer Fernandes – Krahn (Meffert 72’), Heyer, Ramos, Igboanugo (Muheim 46’) – Poreba, Pherai (Bornschein 63’) – Königsdörffer (Kiveta 63’), Sillah (Sanne 63’), Glatzel (Öztunali 46’), Okugawa (Jatta 72’)

Goals: 0-1 Gronning (40’ (pen)), 1-1 Poreba (48’), 2-1 Jatta (82’ (pen))

Referee: Luca Jürgensen (FC Eintracht Norderstedt)