HSV rewards itself with a draw in its comeback against Gladbach
After a 2,660-day break, Hamburger SV is back in the Bundesliga. Their comeback match went well, ending in a draw. HSV held Borussia Mönchengladbach to a 0-0 draw away from home on Sunday evening.
HSV coach Merlin Polzin's team, which was massively restructured in the summer, defended seriously and consistently from the start and made things very difficult for the hosts.
Nevertheless, the home side had two excellent scoring opportunities in the first half – both of which went unused. Starting with Rocco Reitz, Kevin Stöger lifted the ball over the Hamburg defense and perfectly into the path of Franck Honorat. He penetrated the penalty area, but fired a poorly placed shot towards goal from a half-right position. Daniel Heuer-Fernandes put out his right knee and ultimately safely blocked the powerful shot (28th minute).
Robin Hack caused a lot of trouble on the Foals' left attacking flank. Things became particularly dangerous just before halftime when Hack "wrapped himself around" his opponent and quickly delivered a cross into the penalty area. Haris Tabakovic rose high, but didn't quite connect with the ball, which was a bit too high.
Hamburg came onto the field confidently in the first five minutes of the game, but Ransford Königsdörffer's only shot attempt was easily blocked.
Gladbach tries hard - HSV bulwark holdsGladbach increased the pressure at the start of the second 45 minutes – and Hamburger SV were no longer able to offer any offensive presence. Gerardo Seoane's players increasingly appeared in the box with individual attacks. Kevin Stöger tried a backheel, but goalkeeper Heuer-Fernandes confirmed why he had prevailed in the internal duel with Bayern's new signing, Israel international goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. The Hamburg goalkeeper also made every effort to deny Reitz a curled shot.
As it became increasingly clear midway through the second half that Borussia were struggling to create scoring opportunities, the visitors became a bit more courageous again. Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit plucked up the courage in the 67th minute, and the otherwise completely underutilized Moritz Nicolas deflected a deflected shot into the corner.
Hamburg's substitutes gain momentumWhen Polzin brought on Jean-Luc Dompé and Yussuf Poulsen, who had just signed from RB Leipzig, in the 74th minute, HSV's attacking quality was infused. This was evident in the 89th minute, when Poulsen flicked on a Dompé cross and William Mikelbrencis pushed the ball over the line. Referee Sascha Stegemann immediately correctly ruled it offside. However, it remains to be seen whether the ball would have crossed the line even without Mikelbrencis's contribution.
A header from Kevin Diks narrowly missed the Hamburg goal on Gladbach's attacking side - Reitz had crossed from the right. However, neither team managed to score on this evening.
Gladbach's captain Reitz: Critical and grateful"We did well off the ball," Borussia captain Rocco Reitz told Sportschau after the match, "but creating dangerous scoring opportunities or getting dangerously close to the box – that wasn't enough today." Reitz is touched by the fact that, at 23, he is now captain of his Borussia: "I had goosebumps before the game. I'm truly honored."
Gladbach travels to Stuttgart, HSV hosts St. Pauli in the derbyGladbach will play VfB Stuttgart in Canstatt on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). HSV will host FC St. Pauli in another derby match under the floodlights of the Volksparkstadion on Friday evening (8:30 p.m.).
sportschau
