Match report
12.12.17
HSV’s strong home run ended by Frankfurt
Hamburg lost their final home game of the year, beaten 2-1 by Frankfurt. HSV took an early lead through a glancing Papadopoulos header, but two Eintracht goals in ten minutes gave the Eagles a first-half lead they didn’t relinquish.
HSV ended a run of three consecutive clean sheets as an inattentive ten-minute spell gifted Eintracht to first-half goals. The Rothosen had started the game well, breaking the deadlock from an outswinging Hunt corner, glanced in by Papadopoulos, but an attention lapse gave the visitors a way back in. First Wolf then Gacinovic scored for the Eagles, and though HSV spend the second half camped in the Eintracht half, they could find no way past Hradecky between the visitors’ sticks.
From high to low very quickly
Markus Gisdol made only one change to the team that drew against Wolfsburg. Ito dropped to the bench, replaced by another young gun, Luca Waldschmidt. It was the German’s first start of the season in the Bundesliga, having made a number of impressive cameos from the bench. And it was the Rothosen who started the better of the two teams, showing real intent in the early stages. A slick move ending with a low, driven Kostic cross from the left wing was sidefooted in by Papadopoulos, but the goal was ruled off because the ball had gone out of play. Minutes later though, the captain-on-the-night did put the hosts into the lead, rising above everyone else to head the ball past Hradecky in the Eintracht goal. Barely had the Rothosen had time to finish celebrating, however, when Eintracht were level. Breaking into the Hamburg half, Wolf found himself with a bit of space outside the box and drove a powerful drive past Mathenia. Ten minutes later, the Eagles took the lead. Gacinovic ghosted into the Hamburg box to curl a low cross into the bottom left corner, marking a rapid turnaround in fortunes.
A tale of missed opportunities
Hamburg were stunned, but the response was strong. The second half was barrage after barrage of Hamburg attacks and there were chances galore. Gisdol reacted to going behind by replacing Walace with Ekdal in the first half and the Swede was committed in his challenges, bringing a real physicality to the midfield. First Arp from close range and then Dennis Diekmeier came close to getting Hamburg’s second. Arp’s volley was brilliantly tipped over by the outstanding Hradecky. Diekmeier, meanwhile, had the ball in the net and was off celebrating, only to be halted in his tracks by the offside flag. Later, Ito came on for Waldschmidt, injecting pace and dribbling skills into the game. The young Japanese found Kostic’s head from an inviting cross in from the right side, but the Serb couldn’t keep his header down. Schipplock on for Mavraj was the final change of the game, as the Rothosen desperately tried to salvage something from the match. It wasn’t to be though, as the Eagles stood firm, and Hamburg were left rueing what might have been. It was a performance full of heart and effort, which will ultimately give the Rothosen hope going into the final game before the winter break against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday.
MATCH FACTS:
Hamburger SV: Mathenia - Diekmeier, Papadopoulos, Mavraj (82. Schipplock), Douglas - Jung, Walace (36’ Ekdal) - Hunt, Waldschmidt (67’ Ito), Kostic - Arp
Eintracht Frankfurt: Hradecky - Russ, Abraham (8’ Salcedo), Falette - Chandler, M. Wolf, G. Fernandes, Tawatha - Gacinovic (46’ Barkok), Rebic - Jovic (62’ K.-P. Boateng)
Goals: 1-0 Papadopoulos (9’), 1-1 Wolf (15’), 1-2 Gacinovic (24’)
Attendance: 40,983
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)
Yellow cards: - / Falette (42’), K.-P. Boateng (75’), Wolf (94’)