Second division soccer team HSV made another “adult” appearance against Hansa Rostock. That has to do with the increased quality and balance of the Hamburg squad. Nevertheless, it is important to confirm the development against promoted Elversberg.
Ludovit Reis boldly lifted his midfield partner Laszlo Benes into the air. The Slovak had just scored the decisive 2-0 in a confident performance against strong Rostock with a powerful shot from 16 meters. And that with a matter of course, which is representative of the past appearances of Hamburg in the 2nd division.
HSV finds the balance between patience and pressure
Of course, in the way that coach Tim Walter’s team worked out goals on Sunday, but also in Hanover: with patience, but still with pressure, free the best-positioned player, who then came to success from around 16 meters. Bakery Jatta did that after submitting Reis against Lower Saxony and the Dutchman and Benes on Sunday against Hansa.
The image of Reis and Benes also stands for a matter of course that has found its way into the Hamburgers at a higher level in the past three weeks: a balance in the squad that has never existed under Tim Walter. The coach, but also captain Sebastian Schonlau, who made his comeback against FCH after surviving a calf injury, emphasized the improvement in quality in the squad weeks ago.
Pherai pressures Reis and Benes
From an offensive point of view, this has to do with the signing of Immanuel Pherai, who not only offers Walter an additional option, but also seems to push Reis and Benes into top form. In the last test before the season, Reis, who felt indispensable, was injured against Glasgow Rangers, but Benes and the new signing from Braunschweig made up excellently for the loss in the team against Schalke 04.
Two attacking midfielders in Pherai and the Slovak were out against Hannover, Reis and Ransford Yeboah Königsdörffer filled the gaps seamlessly.
Jatta and Dompé are getting in shape
Now everyone is fit and the offensive clicks. Because, like against 96 and Rostock, fewer chances to score are enough to win – and also because the outside players Jatta and Jean-Luc Dompé get in shape after a bumpy start to the season.
In the end, that was almost even more true for the defensive, which after conceding eight goals in the first three games in all competitions, remained without a goal in the following three matches. Last season, the sudden departure of central defender Mario Vuskovic, who was suspended due to doping, tore a gap in the overall construct that Hamburg was unable to compensate for on the track.
As hard as he tried, Jonas David, who has now been loaned to Rostock, was not up to the demands of the complex Walter system, neither in the core activity of defending nor in opening the game.
Hadzikadunic and van der Brempt stabilize the HSV defence
Dennis Hadzikadunic and Ignace van der Brempt in particular bring a new solidity to the Hamburg defense, which also seems to have a positive effect on the full-back Miro Muheim, who made a number of mistakes in the second half of the season. The return of Stephan Ambrosius and the signing of Guilherme Ramos also give Walter good backup options should Schonlau or Hadzikadunic fail in central defence.
In addition to the personal details, the reason why midfield motor Reis currently perceives “a step forward every week” after the success over Hansa is to be found above all in the newly discovered shared desire to defend.
Greed, biliousness and joint defensive work – things that HSV lacked in the past, especially in highly intensive and close games – were a hallmark of Hamburg’s appearances, at least in the three previous games, alongside a growing calmness in the offensive game. Coach Walter saw it that way too: “We defended the rest of the field well and passed the test of patience on the offensive.”
Confirm good performances against Elversberg
His captain analyzed the improved team balance in the first weeks of the season: “We said from the start that we had to get this under control. If it looks like it is now, we like it.” And when Walter says, “The only thing I blame my boys for is that we didn’t do the third one,” then that speaks for the current balance after the turbulent performances at the beginning.
The next game takes HSV after the international break to Elversberg, which celebrated its first second division win on Sunday with a 1-0 win in Osnabrück. The next development step for the Walter-Elf after good performances against strong and well-known opponents such as Schalke 04, Karlsruher SC, Hertha BSC and Hanover is to call up such a performance against the promoted team.
This topic in the program:
sports club | 09/03/2023 | 10:50 p.m
