Pre match report
18.05.19
"We want to end with a win"
HSV’s season comes to an end at the Volksparkstadion on Sunday. Despite missing out on promotion, the Rothosen have still prepared heavily for the final game of the campaign.
The past few days have been far from easy for everyone involved with Hamburger SV. The missed chance of promotion was followed by a tough analysis of the season and current situation, before head of sport Ralf Becker announced that head coach Hannes Wolf and the club would go their separate ways at the end of the season. Naturally, it was a hectic week at the Volkspark. But for now, full focus is on the season finale on Sunday (19/05, kickoff 15:30 CEST), as MSV Duisburg visit the Volksparkstadion. Although the fixture against an already-relegated Duisburg side has no significant bearing on the outcome of the two teams’ seasons, HSV will give everything one last time. “HSV is a fantastic club and the fans are amazing,” said Wolf, who will coach the Rothosen one last time. “For the fans, and also for ourselves, we want to end the season with a win.” Becker was of a similar opinion: “We want to see out the season with some positivity, so we’re expecting the players to give everything. It’s what the fans deserve.”
Wolf did not disclose his team selection in his final press conference, but hinted that a number of young players may get a chance. Amongst the more experienced players are Tom Mickel and Pierre-Michel Lasogga, who are both available once again after being unable to train earlier in the week. As Julian Pollersbeck has not been named in the matchday squad after being struck down with illness, Mickel is expected to be named between the sticks in Wolf’s final Starting XI.
Like Hamburg, Duisburg have had struggles of their own recently. Last weekend, they were consigned to relegation to the 3. Liga. “We will go into this game like any professional should – we want to win,” said Duisburg head coach Torsten Lieberknecht, whose team were unable to avoid relegation despite some good performances and results. The Zebras have only lost one of their previous four games, picking up five points and scoring nine goals. “We know that it won’t be an easy game against Duisburg, but we want to give everything as a team” said Wolf.
HSV squad: Goalkeepers: Mickel, Behrens; Outfield: Arp, Douglas, Hunt, Hwang, Janjicic, Jatta, Jung, Köhlert, Lacroix, Lasogga, Narey, Özcan, Sakai, Vagnoman, van Drongelen, Wintzheimer
Potential Duisburg lineup: Mesenhöler - Hajri, Gembalies, Nauber, Wolze - Schnellhardt - Gyau, Daschner, Nielsen, Stoppelkamp – Iljutcenko
Referee: Rene Rohde (Rostock)