Player
29.08.23
Triple success for Jatta
Bakery Jatta has proved his importance for HSV in recent weeks. Not only has the 25-year-old put Hamburg 1-0 up in each of the last three matches, he has also made a great impression with his excellent performances.
Head coach Tim Walter was in good spirits on Saturday evening when he spoke to SKY’s Torsten Mattuschka after HSV’s 1-0 win over Hannover and he was tongue-in-cheek when asked about Jatta. “With Baka, you don’t know if the ball will fly into the net or into the Maschsee,” said the 47-year-old. The 25-year-old winger bagged the winner at the Niedersachsenstadion and it proved to be the third game on the bounce that the Gambian has scored Hamburg’s opening goal. Jatta scored twice in the 4-3 cup thriller vs. Rot-Weiß Essen a fortnight ago and helped his side on their way to a 3-0 win against Hertha on 19th August. “We have a new goalscorer in Bakery,” said a smiling Walter, who has a special relationship with the player both on and off the pitch.
“New” goalscorer Impressive when out of possession
It came as no surprise when Jatta, who was brought back into the starting XI against Rot-Weiß Essen after two substitute appearances at the start of the season, shone in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. The winger repaid the head coach’s faith with a smart brace and silenced some of the critics in the process.
The fact that Baka is known more for his unwavering commitment, his physicality and his strength in the duels, is also a reason why the head coach stuck with him in Hannover. This came despite a good performance by fellow winger Jean-Luc Dompe, who was tactically substituted for Stephan Ambrosius following Gui Ramos’ red card. “Hats off to the head coach for leaving him on. For me, Dompe was much better up to that point in the game.” Tim Walter’s decision to leave Jatta on the field when his side were reduced to 10 men proved to be an inspired one. “Jean-Luc’s game isn’t necessarily as well suited when we’re a man down. On the other hand, Baka is really strong when we’re out of possession. He wins back the ball and we always create good moments through him. That’s why he deserved to stay on the pitch,” said the gaffer after the game. The Gambian also deserved the jubilant scenes amongst the 20,000 HSV fans when he fired his side into the lead.
Still unbeaten against Rostock
The current top two in the 2. Bundesliga will go head-to-head on Sunday (13:30 CEST) as Hansa Rostock travel to the Volksparkstadion and HSV will be going into the game full of confidence with their in-form Bakery Jatta. The winger would of course like to continue his goalscoring run in what will be his 145th second division appearance for the club (22 goals, 20 assists), not least because he hasn’t yet bagged against Rostock. The omens are good in terms of the result, however, as the 25-year-old has walked off the pitch as the winner in each of his three previous appearances against Hansa.