This start went haywire! John Patrick Strauss (26) made his competitive debut for Hansa in the DFB Cup. In the 0-1 defeat in Lübeck, the newcomer, like all Rostockers, remained far below his potential.
The defender self-critically: “I’ve never called up such a performance. I am really disappointed. I noticed that I’m not at 100 percent yet.”
Strauss came from Aue, who had been relegated to the second division, in June and was scheduled to play at Hansa as a full-back. But at the beginning of the preparation, the veteran suffered a muscle injury. A week before the cup game, he got into full team training. And due to further injuries (Neidhart, Ananou) was suddenly in the starting XI.
Strauss: “You could see that the processes with my team-mates weren’t right and that I lacked match practice and competitive toughness. I will work hard on these deficits in the coming weeks.”
Coach Jens Härtel (53) wasn’t satisfied with the debutant either, saying: “He didn’t play quite as well and like everyone else there is still room for improvement.” Strauss praised improvement for the floodlit game against Bielefeld on Saturday. The defender: “We have to show a reaction. We have to build up more tension in training and then give it our all in the game.”
► Next hammer penalty for Hansa. Because of the riots of his fans at the home games against St. Pauli and HSV, the second division team has to pay almost 138,000 euros. In the games, guest fans were shot at with pyrotechnics. In addition, Hansa rioters threw a metal cabinet, fire extinguishers and trash cans at the police during the HSV game. Hansa wants to appeal the verdict. It was only in November 2021 that the club received a fine of 97,000 euros, which was later reduced by the DFB.
► At the Cup-Aus in Lübeck, Hansa-Chaos robbed a snack bar.
