HSV: “It’s just amazing”

Everyone wanted to be celebrated by this backdrop. All Hamburger SV players knelt down in Hanover on Saturday evening in front of around 20,000 HSV fans who had traveled with them. Sports director Jonas Boldt once again appeared alone in front of the south stand of the arena, which was completely clad in blue, white and black. With one man less, HSV had just won a memorable northern duel at Hannover 96. The party can hardly get much more exuberant than after this 1-0 victory, even if Hamburg finally manages to make the long-awaited return to the Bundesliga next May.

“Our fans? Unbelievable!” said coach Tim Walter afterwards. “We are a team where everyone stands up for everyone. And then there are the many spectators behind you – that’s just amazing.”

Schalke, Karlsruhe, Hertha, Hanover: Right at the start of the new season, HSV played against two current Bundesliga clubs and two long-standing Bundesliga clubs. Nevertheless, after only four matchdays he already has seven points more than the two supposed main rivals Schalke 04 (0:2 against Kiel) and Hertha BSC (5:0 against Fürth).

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Sport director Boldt called the achievement of this success in Hanover “a pointer to everyone” in the league. In the 53rd minute, defender Guilherme Ramos saw the red card for an emergency brake. Fifteen minutes later, Bakery Jatta scored to make it 1-0 (68′).

Of course, all of this has happened before: a successful start to the season for HSV (2019, 2020, 2022). A spectacular victory in Hanover (2022). At the end of the season, the former European Cup winners got stuck in the second division every time, five times in a row. But it was no coincidence that on Saturday evening in Hanover everyone was talking about a further development. Or as Boldt put it: “We are becoming even more resilient. We’ve improved a few points where we’ve had difficulties in recent years.”

Bakery Jatta scored the winning goal – and then received a funny comment from his coach

Quelle: Getty Images

The willingness to defend a result in a dirty and pragmatic way, for example. It no longer violates Walter’s tactical principles. The much criticized HSV defense only allowed half a chance to score after being sent off against strong Hanoverians. “We played with a completely new back four at the beginning of the season. Now you can see that things are growing together a bit,” said midfielder Jonas Meffert.

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However, the truth is that, unlike other second division clubs, Hamburg could afford to bring in five new top players even after five missed promotions and to keep all the key players in the squad. On Saturday, captain Sebastian Schonlau, king transfer Immanuel Pherai and Laszlo Benes, who was successful four times in the first three games, were absent. With a bit of luck, it was enough for an ambitious opponent like Hannover.

And so the mood at HSV is currently so good that Bakery Jatta not only received the usual praise for his winning goal, but a particularly humorous one. “It’s like that with Baka,” said coach Walter: “Sometimes he shoots the ball into the net. But sometimes also here in the Maschsee. It was perfect today.”

Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler once started with a winning streak – now his team specializes in goalless draws

Quelle: Getty Images

The mood at city rivals FC St. Pauli is a little less euphoric. Although they didn’t lose again, the FC St. Pauli players still felt a little like losers after the draw against 1. FC Magdeburg. For the third time in a row, Hamburg had only played 0-0 in the 2nd Bundesliga. The team of coach Fabian Hürzeler took the stability in defense from the second half of the last half of the season, but the goal threat has been lost on the way into the new season.

“The basis of our game will always be defensive stability,” emphasized coach Hürzeler on Sunday and did not allow any discussions about offensive problems. He sees this only externally. “We don’t allow them internally,” he said.

The 30-year-old praised his team for “always finding solutions” against a strong opponent. At times, his team’s superiority against Magdeburg, who were also undefeated after the fourth matchday, was overwhelming. In the end there were 26:8 shots on goal and 11:3 corners in the statistics. The FC St. Pauli players had also run six kilometers more than their opponents. And yet in the end, as in the games against Fortuna Düsseldorf and SpVgg. Greuther Fürth both in front and behind the zero.

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“These performances deserve better,” said Captain Jackson Irvine. The Australian himself had missed several chances in the second half. “Is it a lack of luck, quality at the crucial moment, concentration? We have to find the answer,” said the midfield driver. “We have to find her quickly.”

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“Sportstudio” legend Kürten

FC St. Pauli missed the opportunity to move close to the top of the table with a win. Despite the overwhelming superiority of the hosts, especially in the second half, Hamburg had to settle for just one point in their fifth second division game against 1. FC Magdeburg. Magdeburg is now fourth in the table (8 points), Hamburg is ninth (6).

In front of 29,546 spectators in the sold-out Millerntor Stadium, both teams initially tried to stop the opponent’s game by pressing early. During the first half, however, Hamburg gained an advantage and created a few chances.

Elias Saad (6th) was the first to check Magdeburg’s goalkeeper Dominik Reimann. A minute later, Andreas Albers failed because of the strong reaction of Reimann. Saad (36th) later missed from a short distance. The Magdeburgers were pushed more and more onto the defensive, in attack they acted too harmlessly.

FCM coach Christian Titz reacted during the break, bringing in Luc Castaignos for Tatsuya Ito. Nothing changed in the balance of power. On the contrary: the pressure from FC St. Pauli grew. Albers and Irvine in particular kept coming up with opportunities. In the final phase, the hosts were even lucky that Magdeburg’s Daniel Elfadli (86th) failed with a header from St. Pauli’s goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.