The Hamburg derby between HSV and FC St. Pauli is particularly explosive in this second division season: both clubs are still fighting to return to the Bundesliga. The duel on Friday evening sets the direction for the coming weeks.
The situation before the game is clear: If Hamburger SV wins the city derby, the rival will be nine points behind. The brown and whites should not catch up in the remaining five games. Fortuna Düsseldorf and SC Paderborn would be the last remaining pursuers should they win their games in Nuremberg and Sandhausen respectively.
St. Pauli’s captain Jackson Irvine described the duel in the Volksparkstadion on Friday (6.30 p.m., in the NDR Livecenter) as an “important game for the city”, so no player needs “extra motivation”. And when it comes to the meaning of the game, which is sold out with 57,000 spectators, then this is by far the biggest derby of his career, said the Australian international and World Cup participant.
18 degrees Celsius and the best football weather are forecast for the evening. HSV coach Tim Walter firmly believes that things will get “a bit heated” in him and the players, but said: “You have to keep a cool head in such an atmosphere.”
HSV’s dent in results is no coincidence
However, the team has not always succeeded in this. In the 0:2 on the Betzenberg, driver Ludovit Reis of all people made two serious mistakes that promptly led to the goals. “We don’t allow much, but we’re just unlucky that our mistakes are often exploited,” said Walter.
“It’s important to be convinced of your own game idea. Some say it’s arrogance, others say it’s self-confident. Everyone can judge that for themselves.”
— HSV coach Tim Walter
In the past seven games, from which only nine points have been taken, his team has allowed fewer chances and even achieved a higher value in the expected goals. At the same time, the players lost the ball more often while dribbling, and far fewer duels were won, especially on the defensive.
HSV still better than ever in the second division
Despite everything, Walter has no intention of deviating one iota from his line. After all, the game idea put HSV in a good starting position in the first place, which at this point in the second division season had never had as many points as they do now (53). The only bad thing from HSV’s point of view is that Darmstadt and Heidenheim got even more points.
“We won’t do anything special just because everyone expects it,” emphasized Walter. “We play aggressively and always intensely. We always want to have the ball. And if we don’t have it, we want it back.”
However, Fabian Hürzeler announced that he would not just want to watch HSV play their dominant game as usual. “All the teams that were brave against HSV also got something,” said St. Pauli’s coach. “That’s why we want to play our game. Hopefully motivation will do the rest.”
Walter said: “We’re staying with ourselves. We are HSV, we stand for something. But it’s legitimate that the opponents always come up with something special against us.”
St. Pauli wants to start a new series after defeat
Everything was actually done for St. Pauli after the defeat of HSV at the Betzenberg last Saturday evening. A three-pointer against Braunschweig would have reduced the gap to three points, and with a win in the derby, Hürzeler and Co. could even have drawn level with their rivals in terms of points. As a reminder: At the end of the first half of the season, HSV was still 17 points ahead.
But after ten wins in ten games under the new coach, St. Pauli failed against the “Lions” (1:2). “Now it’s about turning the anger into positive energy,” Hürzeler demanded. In other words: St. Pauli wants to start a new series by winning the derby.
Personally, his team looks good. Even Eric Smith, who was missing on the defensive against Braunschweig, will probably get fit in time: “He was back in team training yesterday, the trend for Friday is positive,” said Hürzeler on Wednesday. A little later, however, Walter also declared that he had no failures. At HSV, Jonas Meffert and Moritz Heyer, who were missing last, return to the pitch.
Hürzeler already feels the crackling before the derby
The Hamburg derby is always about a lot of prestige. This time, however, it could also become a guide in the ascent race. “It will definitely be a special game that will electrify the masses. You can already tell from the environment that things are sizzling. But we mustn’t allow ourselves to be influenced by emotions,” warned St. Paulis Hürzeler and allowed himself a tip towards the opponent: “HSV has wanted to get promoted for years, so I definitely think something’s going on in my head.”
“HSV has wanted to get promoted for years, so I definitely think something’s going on in my head.”
— St. Pauli coach Fabian Hürzeler
Meanwhile, his opponent tried, despite repeated requests, to downplay the importance of the game. A big point game? “As always, there are three points for the table. And all teams have five games left after that.”
But Walter also admitted that “emotionally it’s something completely different. There’s a lot of energy and passion in this game.” And certainly no win would taste as good for the HSVers as in the derby against St. Pauli, with which they would end their rivals’ last dreams of promotion.
Possible lineups
HSV: Heuer Fernandes – Heyer, David, Schonlau, Katterbach – Meffert – Reis, Benes – Jatta, Glatzel, Kittel
FC St Pauli: Vasilj – Medic, Smith, Mets – Saliakas, Irvine, Hartel, Paqarada – Metcalfe, Daschner, Afolayan
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NDR 2 Sports | 04/21/2023 | 11:03 p.m
