HSV defeated in semi-final

A fascinating first half…

Head coach Hannes Wolf made three changes to the side which faced FC Erzgebirge Aue on Saturday. Berkay Özcan dropped out of the squad whilst Gotoku Sakai and Manuel Wintzheimer were named on the bench. Josha Vagnoman, Gideon Jung and Pierre-Michel Lasogga returned to the starting XI in their place.

In addition to the personnel changes, Wolf also made some tactical adjustments. His players adopted a flexible 3-5-2 system which became a 5-4-1 formation when out of possession. The head coach’s decision looked to be a wise one, as Die Rothosen began the game aggressively and remained secure against any Leipzig attacks. However, the visitors recorded the opening goal through a set-piece, as Youssuf Poulsen met a Leipzig corner and headed home in the twelfth minute. Just four minutes later, the visitors had the chance to double their lead but Poulsen and Marcel Sabitzer both struck the post in quick succession and HSV remained in the game. In the 24th minute, the home side found an equaliser. Bakery Jatta pressed high up the field and forced Kevin Kampl into a mistake, stole possession and after spotting Peter Gulacsi off his line, audaciously lobbed the Leipzig goalkeeper from around 30 metres. It was a fantastic show of determination and skill from the Gambian and lit up the Volksparkstadion. Spurred on by the brilliant support, Die Rothosen gave a gritty performance for the rest of the half to keep the ball away from their own goal and look for a second. Winger Khaled Narey had a chance to fire HSV into the lead, but needed just a little bit more luck and couldn’t find the net with his two efforts, and the two sides went into half time with nothing to split them.