Tim Walter is very sure. “In the last few years we would have gone under here,” said the Hamburger SV coach after a spectacular second division top game at 1. FC Heidenheim. And Walter coined another sentence that was very important to him on Saturday evening: “This is the new HSV!”
What the 47-year-old meant by that: This new HSV can still get a 3-3 draw if they were already 0-3 behind their biggest rivals. And this new HSV keeps the competition at a distance in the promotion race of the 2nd Bundesliga, instead of seeing them regularly overtake them in the second half of the season, as has been the case for the past four years.
Table leaders Darmstadt 98 won 2-1 (0-0) against Eintracht Braunschweig on Sunday with a goal in added time. On the other hand, 1. FC Kaiserslautern is now six points behind the big promotion favorites after the 0-1 (0-0) loss at FC St. Pauli.
Moritz Heyer, Bakery Jatta and Robert Glatzel celebrate after the 3:3
Source: dpa
What is at least as noticeable in Hamburg: The new HSV subordinates everything to the goal of returning to the first division. Walter’s wagon castle stands around his team. And at least up to now it didn’t matter what happened in front of this group of wagons.
The power struggles at the shareholder and management levels hardly reach the team anymore. In the Vuskovic doping case, the Hamburgers managed to get the Frankfurt sports court to talk more about the weaknesses of the anti-doping system than about whether the HSV defender did doped or not.
“He knows he made a mistake”
On Saturday evening in Heidenheim, Walter then also allowed Frenchman Jean-Luc Dompé to play from the start, although he and his team-mate William Mikelbrencis were involved in a hit-and-run car accident just five days previously, in which the police now suspected an illegal Auto race determined.
“He knows he made a mistake. He also admitted that – in public and especially in our dressing room,” said Walter about Dompé. “He will be punished for it. We sanctioned him as a club.” He also sees a kind of “therapy” for the Frenchman in his return to the pitch. “It also helps him because he loves football.”
Heidenheim CEO Holger Sanwald made it clear that you can see things differently with a clarity that is rarely heard in professional football. It is still an ongoing process and he does not want to prejudice anyone, said Sanwald in a Sky interview. But: “It’s a little different here at 1. FC Heidenheim. For us, I would rule out that guys like that play football for us again.”
Great resilience even in crises
The fact that Walter and sports director Jonas Boldt are standing in front of Dompé, Mikelbrencis and Vuskovic is also a signal to the rest of the team. And in this atmosphere of “us against the rest” they have long since developed a resilience that HSV has lacked for years. “It feels like a win,” said goalscorer Robert Glatzel after the Heidenheim game. “It can be really important that we come back here in the end. We always believe in ourselves. We never give up. That shows what mentality we have.”
Heidenheim were already 3-0 up thanks to goals from Jan-Niklas Beste (27th minute), Jan Schöppner (30th) and Tim Kleindienst (41st). Because the third-placed player missed several chances to make it 4-0 or even 5-0 in the first 20 minutes after the break, HSV came through Andras Nemeth (72′), former Heidenheimer Glatzel (79′) and a dream goal from Bakery Jatta ( 88.) back again.
The long-known weaknesses in defensive behavior, which could once again seriously endanger the company’s promotion, are also part of the history of this top-game spectacle. But with the “new HSV” this is also addressed openly. “We have mentality and the whole city behind us. This momentum is difficult to stop,” said Walter. “But you also have to talk about the first 60 minutes.”
Great joy also at FC St. Pauli
Exhausted but happy, Jackson Irvine slipped through the mixed zone. “That was one of the toughest games for FC St. Pauli,” said the Australian on Sunday after the 1-0 (0-0) win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Sunday in the 2nd Bundesliga. His compatriot Connor Metcalfe scored the decisive goal in the 72nd minute in front of 29,456 spectators at the sold-out Millerntor in Hamburg’s third win in the third game under new coach Fabian Hürzeler.
For Irvine, the 29-year-old coach, the youngest in German professional football, has played a huge part in the recovery. “He gives us structure, but he also gives us freedom,” praised the midfielder. Collected nine points, conceded zero goals. Hürzeler formed the team of the moment out of an insecure St. Pauli team. For him, defense is the key to victory: “The zero has to be there,” he said after the game on the Sky microphone.
Leart Paqarada from St. Pauli celebrates after the final whistle
Source: dpa
With 26 points, the North Germans remain in ninth place, but have now placed six points between them and the relegation rank. The gap to the seventh and eighth place teams from Hannover 96 and Holstein Kiel has shrunk to two points.
Both teams started cautiously in the very physical game and largely neutralized each other. The hosts tried to overcome the well-organized defense of the Palatinate with long balls. However, the precision was lacking. Kaiserslautern gave the ball to the Hamburgers. However, the desired switching moments remained in short supply.
Coach Fabian Hürzeler rushes from victory to victory with FC St. Pauli
Source: dpa
So it was logical that St. Pauli had the first big chance. In the 44th minute, Marcel Hartel failed with a header. A little later, Jackson Irvine put the ball next to the left post. These actions woke up the guests. In added time in the first half, Aaron Opoku tested Hamburg goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
Good performance even after the change
After the change, Hamburg remained the dominant team. Leart Paqarada missed the best opportunities to take the lead with a deflected shot (52′), Lukas Daschner (59′) and Metcalfe (66′), who later did better after fine preliminary work from Eric Smith. “A brilliant moment,” said Hürzeler about the pass of the Swede, who extended his contract in Hamburg this week. There was also praise for St. Pauli from guest keeper Andreas Luthe: “You have a new game idea with the new coach and you deserve to win. We were too hectic when we had possession of the ball.”
Referee Martin Petersen issued a total of eleven yellow cards. St. Paulis Manolis Saliakas conceded one of them. It was the fifth of the season for the Greek. The right-back is therefore out for the away game next Saturday (1 p.m. / Sky) at 1. FC Magdeburg.
