Friendly
11.01.24
HSV draw 2-2 in friendly against FC Zürich
Hamburger SV rounded off their winter training camp with a friendly match against FC Zürich. Surrounded by picturesque scenery, HSV drew 2-2 with the Swiss side.
On Thursday, 11th January, Hamburger SV played their second and final match of their winter training camp in Spain. The Rothosen faced off against Swiss Super League side FC Zürich at the Estadio La Linea de la Concepcion, a ground set against the backdrop of the famous Rock of Gibraltar. Zürich currently sit third in the first division of Swiss football and promised to be a tough test for HSV, but the scores were level at 2-2 after 90 minutes. Meffert and Glatzel netted for the Rothosen, with good performances all round securing a successful end to the team’s training camp in the south of Spain.
HSV looked good from the get-go after both teams held a minute’s silence to honour German football legend, Franz Beckenbauer. The Rothosen looked alert and energetic as they looked to play quick, direct football. They strung together some intricate sequences in the final third, despite Zürich having the best defensive record in the Swiss Super League. HSV got forward again and again, with Lazslo Benes’ shot in the eighth minute being their first really threatening opportunity.
Meffert had more luck after a quarter of an hour, when he slotted the ball home from around 18 yards to give HSV the lead after good work from Jatta. Walter praised the team from the sidelines for the well-crafted goal, which the Rothosen followed with more good chances. Both Dompe and Heyer struck the crossbar before half time and missed out on making it 2-0, which could also have come from a penalty, but Spanish referee Moreno Lapeira turned down Hamburg’s appeals after two alleged handballs in the area from the Swiss side. Despite HSV’s clear superiority on the field and a lot of good attacking situations, they went in level at 1-1 at the break, with FC Zürich levelling through Okita after a quick counterattack.
Walter sent seven new players onto the field for the second half, as he of course wanted as many players as possible to gain match practice in the final friendly of the training camp. Additionally, the players were very tired after ten training sessions on the pitch and a number of further units in the weight room, meaning that a certain amount of rotation was necessary. Despite the many changes, the Rothosen remained the dominant side on the pitch and had two huge chances through Glatzel, after the Swiss side had hit the post right at the beginning of the second half.
Though these chances did not make it 2-1, HSV kept the pressure on and got their reward in the 73rd minute with the second goal of the day, when Poreba perfectly threaded the ball into the path of Glatzel, who this time stayed ice-cool and made it 2-1. But this lead again didn’t last long, as FCZ equalised once more. Reichmuth drove forward on the right before scoring to make it 2-2 in the 87th minute, meaning that the dominant Hamburg drew 2-2 against FC Zürich, just as they had in the previous friendly against PSV Eindhoven. From HSV’s perspective, it was a good and intensive end to the training camp, with the Rothosen set to return to Hamburg tomorrow (Friday).
STATISTICS:
HSV first half: Raab - Van der Brempt, Ambrosius, Hadzikadunic, Heyer - Meffert, Benes, Pherai - Jatta, Nemeth, Dompe
HSV second half: Heuer Fernandes - Van der Brempt (62' Suhonen), Ambrosius (76' Seifert), Ramos, Muheim - Poreba, Benes (77' Reis), Krahn - Jatta (87' Balde), Glatzel, Öztunali
Goals: 1-0 Meffert (15'), 1-1 Okita (30'), 2-1 Glatzel (73'), 2-2 Reichmuth (87')